In Two Seconds
by uptown
Summary: "I don't care what you have to do." Gabriella hissed, glaring at Sharpay & Troy's intertwined hands. "Just get her out of my school."
1. Trailer

_The screen lights up to a view of bronze gates. The sign on the gate says _Eastwood Boarding School. _We see a black car drive through the gates. The camera follows the car though a small thick forest of trees. In the clearing, we see the tall brick buildings of the school. We hear Sharpay's voice narrating:_

"Every school has three things."

_A clip of Sharpay opening the door to the now-parked black car. She looks around curiously before her eyes stay fixed on a group of people crossing the quad._

"A Queen Bee."

_The camera zooms in on Gabriella._

"An Alpha Male."

_The camera moves over, revealing Troy._

"And a New Girl."

_The camera goes back to Sharpay._

**Welcome to Eastwood (**the dean's voice now narrates**)**

"Miss Montez, I'd like you to meet your new roommate."

_A clip of Gabriella sitting on her bed in her dorm. She looks up to see her dean standing in her doorway, ushering in Sharpay and her luggage._

_Gabriella closes the magazine she's reading. _"What about Tiara?"

"I'm afraid your old roommate won't be attending this semester."

**Now, we have a few rules here…**

_A clip of Sharpay in her dorm with Gabriella. She reaches her hand out towards Gabriella._

"I'm Sharpay Evans. I'm new."

_Gabriella looks at her hand quizzically, raising an eyebrow as she looks back at her. _"I'm Gabriella. I figured."

_Sharpay drops her hand._

**Rule one: No boys in the girls' dorms. Or vice versa.**

_A clip of Troy grabbing Sharpay's forearm, leading her forward._

"Come on." _He says._ "I want to show you something."

""I don't think I'm allowed-"

_Troy turns back to look at her. A smile on his lips._ "Rules are made to be broken, New Girl."

_A clip of Gabriella glaring at Troy and Sharpay_

**Rule two: Be nice to your classmates.**

_A clip of Troy and Gabriella sitting in the cafeteria. Gabriella leans towards Troy._

"You don't actually like her, do you?"

_Troy looks over at Sharpay and her friends laughing. Troy smiles._ "She's cool."

"She's not one of us."

"And that's a bad thing?" _Gabriella purses her lips, Troy continues._ "Just give her a chance."

**Rule three: No fighting.**

_A clip of Gabriella walking towards Sharpay. Sharpay is backing away._

"I don't like you. And I'm not going to pretend to."

_Sharpay backs up into a wall. _

"It's obvious Troy's using you to get over Tiara."

_Gabriella smiles menacingly__._

"So here's some advice I suggest you take."

_Sharpay furrows her eyebrows._

"Stay. Away. From Troy Bolton."

**As soon as you make some friends…**

_A Clip of Sharpay slapping Jason across the face._

_Clip of Gabriella grabbing Sharpay by the arm._

_Clip of Troy kissing Sharpay on the couch._

_Clip of Sharpay shaking Lily's hand._

"I don't care what you have to do."

_A clip of Gabriella glaring at Sharpay & Troy's intertwined hands. She turns and looks at Taylor. _

"Just get her out of my school."

**I'm sure you'll feel right at home.**

_A clip of Sharpay walking out of a restaurant, leaving Troy standing by himself. Nolan reappears, his eyebrows furrowed,_ "You just let her leave?"

_A clip of Martha and Sharpay in Sharpay's dorm room. Sharpay stares sullen out the window where the snow is falling._ "It's like he can't look at me anymore…"

_A clip of Troy, Sharpay, Gabriella, Kelsi, and Ryan outside of a brick building. Sharpay pulls away from Troy, and he looks her up and down confused._ "Will you just tell me what's wrong?"

_A clip of Troy and Sharpay sitting in the open area of a hotel room. Troy is crouched down in front of her._ "I like you…"

_Sharpay lifts her chin, meeting his eyes. Troy continues, "_Way more than a person should after two weeks."

"I can see it in your eyes." _Martha coos while smiling, she and Sharpay are sitting in the common room of Hale Hall. _

_Sharpay shakes her head and looks down at her legs. She bites back a smile,_ "I don't know what you're talking about…"

**Welcome to the next to two years of your life.**

"It's amazing."

_We hear Troy's voice before the camera focuses in on Troy and Sharpay at a dance, swaying slowly to a song. _"One minute I'm thinking I'll never get over Tiara."

_Sharpay looks up at Troy. _"The next I see you walking into French class."

_Troy grins down at Sharpay, leaning closer__._ "In two seconds… I was all yours."

_The scene changes, we see a quick glimpse of a banner reading _Annual White-Gold Gala_, before we see Gabriella sitting at a table in a gold dress, drumming her fingers. Suddenly, she pushes herself up from the table._

_Kelsi looks up from her SideKick and calls out to Gabriella, who's rushing across the room. _"What are you doing?"

_Gabriella doesn't look back as she answers._ "I'm taking the situation into my own hands."

_Flash of Sharpay being pulled into a dark room._

_Flash of Troy looking across the cafeteria at Sharpay._

_Flash of Gabriella siding her arm into Troy's. _

_Flash of Ryleigh and Sharpay walking across the parking lot wearing short dresses._

_Flash of Troy and Sharpay sitting at the lake._

_Flash of Jason rolling his eyes at Sharpay._

_Flash of Nolan and Sharpay kissing._

_Flash of Kelsi slamming her phone down onto the table._

_Flash of Sharpay collapsing in the forest, Troy barely catching her._

_Flash of Gabriella kissing Troy. We hear her voice_, "I'd do anything for you, Troy."

_Her voice fades off and the screen goes black. We hear Troy shout, _"No!"

The title appears on the screen written in cursive. The font is white. But as a gun shot echoes against the black screen, the font turns red.

**In Two Seconds**


	2. Welcome to Eastwood

This is not where Sharpay wanted to be. She did not want to be in Connecticut, in her mom's new black company car, driving up a hill in a small town to her new school. It wasn't the Connecticut part that was bad, because as they drove up the winding hill that would lead her to her boarding school prison Sharpay could see nothing but a variety of colorful trees. It was that she had been ripped from her warm Albuquerque home to come here. So what if her mom got a new job? She was happy back at her old school; an old school where she had spent a majority of her freshman and sophomore years trying to get people to like her. This fact was sad, Sharpay knew, but she liked the way people stared enviously at the popular kids as they walked through the halls. She wanted that. And finally, two months into her junior year, she was accepted into that gloriously popular inner circle. And what happens in November of her junior year? She gets uprooted from her hard-earned inner circle and thrown into a new school.

New school. Those two words had been echoing in her head since they came out of her mother's mouth two weeks ago. Sharpay pulled her striped cashmere cardigan tighter around her. She would have to start all over. She would no longer be popular. She would be a nobody again. No, she would be worse than a nobody- she'd be the new girl.

"We're here, Sharpay."

The sound of her mother's voice pulled her from her trance of staring out the window. She pulled her earphones out and turned her head forward, where Lidia Evans was rolling the car to a stop in front of a towering bronze gate. She leaned forward, reading the aged sign in the middle of the gates: Eastwood Boarding School. Was it just Sharpay, or were the words 'boarding school' slowly morphing together to somehow spell 'prison'? She turned her head to the side, her eyes following the gates as they seemed to continue on into the thick forest of trees all around them. They probably went around the entire school grounds. As the black Audi came to a complete stop, as if knowing they were there, the gates before them slowly opened.

"Jesus, mom, Alcatraz didn't even have this sort of armory."

"It's called protection, Sharpay. Is it such a bad thing for a school to want its students to be safe? I think it's very comforting." Sharpay didn't see comforting, she saw no way of escape. Her mother turned her head to look at her, gradually pressing back down on the gas pedal and moving the car forward. "Could you at least feign excitement?"

Sharpay's light cocoa eyes remained dead as she looked to her mom, a fake grin on her lips that exposed all of her straight, white teeth. She let out a dramatic sigh as she let her head fall back against the headrest of the passenger's seat, her blonde bangs falling in front of her eyes.

"This is a four star school, honey. I didn't even know schools could _have_ stars. You'll be getting one of the best educations on the east coast."

Right. Because that was Sharpay Evans' top priority. Education.

"That's great, mom."

"And I'm sure you'll make friends right away."

This brought Sharpay's eyes back to her mother. "I don't know how it was back when you went to high school but nowadays it goes like this: every school has three things. A queen bee, an alpha male, and a new girl. You know how many people want to talk to the new girl? One, mom. And that's the president of the Dungeons and Dragons club."

"But Shar, you're beautiful. And funny. And intelligent. I'm sure people will be interested in you."

"Yeah well, I was all those things back in New Mexico and it still took me two years to make friends."

"That's only because you insisted on befriending the _cool_ group."

Sharpay hated her mom said the word 'cool'. She said it like it was an insult. She tried her hardest to keep her temper even. "If I'd known all my hard work would be for nothing, I would have chosen an easier route."

"I'm going to miss home as much as you, Sharpay, but I couldn't turn down the job opportunity. The benefits and pay are better. Much better. And we have a beautiful, new, completely furnished apartment in the city. And who knows, maybe over summer, you can go back and visit your friends in Albuquerque. Maybe you could even invite Jimmie for Christmas vacation. But for now, you're going to have to deal with what you've been dealt." Lidia took a breath, shaking her head slowly at her daughter's impertinence. "Maybe this time try to make friends with a different group of kids."

Sharpay mumbling the word "sure" effectively ended the conversation. She brought her gaze back forward just as the trees opened up into a large clearing. There were almost a dozen large brick buildings before her eyes, the majority of them arranged in a sort of semi-oval. She sucked in a quiet breath, letting it out slowly. _Welcome home_.

/

"Troy says they're ready when we are."

Gabriella Montez looked at her friend in her closet's mirrored door, closing the tube of DiorShow mascara she'd been applying to her already thick lashes. Kelsi Nielsen sat perched on the edge of the unoccupied bed in Gabriella's dorm room in Hale Hall. The bed previously occupied by one Tiara Gold. Her blonde best friend/roommate hadn't shown her face at Eastwood once this semester, had disconnected her phone, and had completely dropped off the radar after they left for summer vacation last May. Gabriella would have guessed that she had been expelled but Tiara had such a charismatic way with words that she could probably convince the president to pull out of Iraq if she tried. So if expulsion had been the case, she could have- no- would have gotten around it. But Gabriella could hardly complain. After her roommate's untimely disappearance, she had taken her position as Eastwood's Junior Queen Bee. A position she really, really enjoyed. And not just because it gave her permission to order around Kelsi and the rest of the girls in her class. Mainly, it put her opposite in command to Troy Bolton- current established junior alpha male of their little boarding school. That was the most delightful perk. One, he was the easily the best looking guy on campus, except for maybe the Senior Alpha Male. And two, he had been dating Tiara Gold since early freshman year, but since she disappeared was now, technically, available. Since September, Gabriella had been trying to help Troy get over the loss of Tiara, and into… well… _her_. In the simplest sense. But there was no luck. Four months into junior year and she was still Bolton-less.

"Are Taylor and Martha dressed?"

Kelsi flipped her maroon SideKick shut, something she rarely did these days since she signed a contract with IMG models in New York over the summer, and stood up from her spot on the bed. At only 5'7, her manager had deemed her the next Kate Moss. She'd walked five runways during Fashion Week. "Taylor went to breakfast early with Zeke and Chad. Martha's downstairs waiting in the common room." She straightened up as she stood in front of the mirror, readjusting the fit of her leather Rag & Bone Maryna jacket. When Gabriella took over Tiara's position, Kelsi had taken over Gabriella's. She was second in command. While Gabriella's look steered towards MaxMara, Kelsi's route was more Alexander Wang. She was the Yin to her Yang, so to speak. Her naturally wavy auburn hair was straightened, coming down to just below her chest, and her flawless, pale skin set off her green cat-like eyes.

In her Christian Louboutin leopard booties, a pair of shoes only she and Gwen Stefani could pull off, Kelsi was just a few inches shy of six foot. Feeling minuscule in comparison, Gabriella smoothed a hand over her beige Andrew Gn dress that hit her mid-thigh. She quickly pulled on a wool cardigan and looked down at her Burberry flats. She smiled at the forest green color of them both– Troy's favorite color. She toyed with her wavy brunette hair before meeting Kelsi's eyes in the mirror once more. "I guess we should go down and meet them, huh?"

And by _them_ she meant _him_.

"Yeah," Kelsi grinned, sliding her phone open once more, "before Jason gets too hungry and goes Hannibal Lector on Troy."

Gabriella grinned mischievously. "If anyone's going Hannibal Lector on Troy, it's going to be me."

"What does that even mean?" Kelsi laughed, her black manicured fingers dancing across the tiny keyboard as she exited the room.

"I'd eat him up in a second." She told herself. But wait… had she said that out loud? Yep. Kelsi turned back to look at her Queen Bee with raised eyebrows. Gabriella smacked her with her oversized clutch. "Nothing dirty. But he's mouth-watering to look at, isn't he?"

Kelsi grabbed Gabriella's arm with one hand, pulling her out of the bedroom, rolling her eyes. "Alright, let's get out of here before your drool floods the room."

/

Sharpay pulled the last of her luggage from the back seat of the Audi, a medium sized duffel she had jam-packed all of her shoes in, and dropped it atop her two apparel-filled suitcases. After pushing the door shut, she turned to see a strikingly handsome, older blonde shaking hands with her mom. He looked like a cross between Carlisle Cullen and Leonardo DiCaprio.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Evans."

"_Ms_. Evans." Lidia corrected, a girlish smile slapped across her face. Sharpay closed her eyes and shook her head. She was at the school all but two minutes and her mom was already flirting with the faculty.

It was going to be a _looong_ year.

"And you must be the newest addition to our esteemed student body." The man grinned, walking over to where Sharpay stood. His hazel eyes were warm and Sharpay took no hesitation in shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you, Sharpay. I'm Dean Lucas."

Sharpay had a hard time keeping her eyes from bulging out of her head. This six foot golden trophy couldn't be a day over 31. There was no way he was the Dean. "Pleasure," Sharpay grinned back, almost wincing. _Pleasure? Really?_ You're in two thousand-fucking-eleven, Sharpay. You are not Marie Antoinette.

Thankfully the Dean turned back to converse with her mother or he would have seen Sharpay shaking her head at her own stupidity. She took a step closer to the black car, leaning down to reach the floor of the passengers seat where her purse was- a soft pleated Botkier hobo her mother had bought her as a bribe to get Sharpay to speak to her after she broke the news about the move. Her mother's outlandish new salary had also given way to multiple new items in Sharpay's wardrobe. She ran a hand along the black leather before sliding it into the crook of her elbow. She looked down at how its dark color complimented the mossy green color of her favorite Splendid jersey dress. As long as she was wearing something green she felt more at home, probably for the simple fact that it was her favorite color. The dress itself cut off rather high, just a little less than an appropriate amount of her tanned legs, which stood taller thanks to a pair of black fringe ankle boots. The earthy color of her cardigan completed the outfit. The latter were two of Lidia's latest presents. Sharpay wasn't complaining. She almost felt bad accepting all of her mother's guilt gifts. Almost.

"Now, if you and your daughter would follow me to my office we'll get everything finalized before she gets settled into her dorm." Sharpay heard the Dean say, and she didn't have to look to know that her mom had that schoolgirl grin on her face again.

As she heard the retreating footsteps on the cobblestone ground Sharpay stood up, and something caught her eye across the quad. Walking across the perfectly manicured grass and ignoring the pathways, about sixty feet from her position, was a group of students her age. The kind of group who walked with the kind of dignified poise that just screamed '_We run this place'_. Sharpay swallowed a lump in her throat, unable to take her eyes off of them. There were six of them, walking in a haphazardly organized mob. In the back of the group, closest to Sharpay was a short blonde talking animatedly to the girl next to her. This girl was a tall red head, who had her attention on the phone in her hands. She tilted her phone to a spikey-haired blonde boy next to her and they both laughed.

The three others at the front of the pack were two boys, each standing on either side of a dark-haired girl. The first boy had his dark hair sprayed into a hipster-esque fohawk and he was talking so loud that Sharpay could hear his voice from where she stood. The girl in the middle, the one Sharpay assumed was the Queen Bee of this school, shook her head and smirked at fohawk boy's opinions on something some guy named James had said to him last night. She turned to the boy on her right and knew automatically he was opposite in her position. Fohawk boy seemed interesting enough, but this boy was clearly Alpha Male. It was shown in the way he carried himself. Alpha Male's light brown hair was styled in a sexily shaggy manner, and as Queen Bee looked up at him, he looked back at her with a knowing stare. Sharpay couldn't see his reaction to her smile, but whatever it was, it was quick. And once he gave it, he returned right back to staring straight ahead as he had been previously. For whatever reason, he seemed detached, uninterested in what the rest of his friends were doing. It looked like he was trying to figure out some sort of math problem in his head.

Sharpay sighed and shut the door of her mother's shiny black car. Back home, she would be with that group of people, with her best friend Jimmie at her side. She'd be the one walking through the school, completely unaware of the lame new students. But here she was just the envious, unpopular, new girl standing alone outside the Dean's office. Back to square one. She turned and walked past her luggage. She felt weird just leaving it out next to the car, but she figured no one here would think of taking it. Judging by the gorgeous attire worn by the students now closing in on the staircase leading up to one of the brick buildings to her left, her Free People collection wouldn't be of interest to anyone. She walked up the few concrete steps, staring down at the swishing fringe of her boots. Once she reached the top, Sharpay turned around, looking at how eerily similar all the brick buildings seemed to be. The air was cold and unfamiliar. She longed for the warm New Mexican atmosphere. Before proceeding into the admissions building whose doorstep she stood on, she allowed herself one more pitiful glance at the beautiful six. One more, and she would done with the envy... for now, anyway. She ran a hand over her curled blonde hair as her eyes found the group once more. What she saw was not what she expected.

There was Alpha Male. Staring. _At her._


	3. Bonjour Monsieur

Sharpay wasn't paying any attention to what Dean Lucas and her mother were conversing about. All she could think about was Alpha Male. When she'd met his gaze, his blue eyes- at least she thought they were blue, they were too light to be brown or green- had stayed on hers for a good three seconds, after that he returned his gaze forward, as if nothing had happened. To him, nothing probably had- unlike Sharpay, who was now impaired to think of anything _but_ those three seconds. He had intoxicated her with a simple glance. She was high on his glimpse. Sharpay didn't even want to know what would happen to her if she ever spoke to him. The phrase 'bumbling idiot' came to mind.

"Sharpay?"

Sharpay looked up at the Dean, who was holding a yellow sheet of paper out to her. "Huh?"

"Your schedule?"

"Right. Sorry." She reached across his desk to take the paper from his hand. She read over the classes as she fell back into her seat. French 4 AP, Shakespearean Literature, Modern Euro AP, Creative Writing, and AP Calculus were her classes this semester. For a mere moment, the thought of the homework for all these classes clouded over the mental image of Alpha Male's stare. But then Sharpay started to wonder if he was in any of these classes and the vision immediately reappeared.

"Of course, because you're arriving so late in the semester, you'll have to do some catching up." Sharpay nodded. Catching up? Was he serious? She'd need a brain transplant. She was smart but not a genius. "-just so that you'll be prepared for the final exam, which, for this semester, will take place before your winter break. Then your classes resume again the beginning of January."

"Um. What time do I have to be in class?"

"Well," Dean Lucas leaned back in his chair, folding his hands on the edge of the mahogany desk in front of him. "The first class of the day begins at 7:45. Each class is seventy five minutes long, with five minutes passing time to get from class to class. Each student has one free period a day to manage their work and the last bell of the day rings at 3:05. As for meal breaks, on week days the cafeteria is open for breakfast from 6:45 to 7:30 each morning. It closes until lunch, and afterwards is open until dinner time concludes for students to come and socialize with their friends over snacks as they please." He looked over at her mother. "We pride ourselves on our variety of healthy and vegetarian snack options."

Sharpay tried not to roll her eyes. _Great, guy, answer my question by flirting with my mother._

"Other questions?"

Sharpay shook her head and took a peak at the clock on the wall behind the Dean. It read 7:27. Which meant the group of students she had seen before were getting a late start on breakfast. Sharpay could picture them walking into the probably-crowded cafeteria, people looking up from their trays of food to catch of glimpse of them walking by. Tomorrow morning she'd probably be one of those onlookers. God, would she be sitting alone? With the Dungeons and Dragons Club? Did this school even _have_ a Dungeons and Dragons club? Guess she'd find out. Sharpay looked over to her mom, who seemed enthralled by the play by play her new Dean was giving. She crossed one leg over the other. "Now, Dean Lucas, I noticed in the catalog you don't have any team sports here at Eastwood..."

"David, please." Sharpay gagged at her mother's grin. "And no, sports are not a part of the Eastwood tradition. We did, however, have a fitness center built a few years back, which is located at the edge of campus. On weekends, we have trained professionals come from town and teach classes for the students. Using their Student IDs, each Eastwood student is required to log at least six hours of time there each week. Now, Sharpay, before I bring you to your dorm, we'll have to get you an ID printed out. You'll need it to get into the buildings, and back on campus if you leave."

Leave… Run away… Was there a difference?

"How many dorms are there?" Sharpay asked. To be honest, she didn't care. But she felt like an idiot just sitting there and not talking. She faintly heard the sound of a bell ringing, which was probably signaling students to get ready for their first class.

"Six. Three per gender, each located on either side of campus. You'll be staying in Hale Hall." The Dean leaned forward in his seat, making eye contact with Sharpay. He said something about 'excellent grades' and 'special students' but Sharpay was too busy thinking about what dorm that group of popular kids lived in. "Now, we do have a few rules here, Miss Evans. Rule one, no boys in the girls' dorms. Or vice versa. Punishment will be awarded if discovered in such a situation. Is that understood?"

Sharpay stared back into his hazel eyes and nodded. Alpha male… in her dorm… Hm… _As if_. "Yes, sir."

"Rule two, pretty obvious, but be nice to your classmates. You'll be spending every day with them so it'll only benefit you. And rule three sort of ties into that, which is no fighting. We don't care if you did or did not start it. Verbally or physically, we have a no-tolerance policy. And other than that there's the obvious: stay on school grounds unless authorized, no illegal substances, and things of that manner. Obvious nonsense which I won't bore you with-"

Too late.

"It's all in handbook, which is included in the Welcome Packet we have prepared for you." The Dean lifted himself out from his seat, signaling that he was done rambling. _Thank god_, Sharpay thought. "As soon as you make some friends I'm sure you'll feel right at home. Now, how about we get you that ID so you can get settled in, hm?"

Thirty minutes later, Sharpay was following the Dean down the wide third-floor hallway of Hale Hall. He was pulling one of her olive suitcases, her matching duffel of shoes balanced on top. She clutched her new Eastwood ID, the grey color of it was unattractively accented with the school's colors: sapphire and gold. Unfortunately the sapphire was more of a navy and the gold was dull, making her photograph look overly bright in comparison. Her Welcome Packet was pinched in her other hand as she pulled along her other suitcase, her pillow resting on top. Her purse remained in the crook arm while she grasped a second duffel of bedding. Just as she felt like a pack mule for lugging all of this up three flights of stairs, Dean Lucas came to a stop in front a door a few feet in front of Sharpay. By the time she reached him he had already knocked and opened the door. She saw him take a step into the room. "Should you be somewhere right now?"

"Free period," the voice answered.

/

Gabriella's eyes darted back and forth between Dean Lucas and the luggage he was carting. She nodded towards the green duffel. Tiara was back, wasn't she? Great. Just perfect. Now she'd never have a chance with Troy. _Be cool, Gabriella. Suave._ She put on her best impress-the-Dean smile. "Moving in, Dean Lucas?"

"Miss Montez, I'd like you to meet your new roommate."

New roommate? No way. No how.

"What about Tiara?" Gabriella pulled her dress down as she closed the magazine in her lap and stood up from her bed. She watched helplessly as he wheeled the suitcase in his hand to the other side of the room and dropped the green duffel onto the empty bed. She looked back to the doorway just as a tan blonde pulled a matching suitcase into the room.

It was _her_. The new girl people had been talking about. Where was she from again? Texas? Arizona? Somewhere like that. Gabriella gave the girl a once-over. She had seen her picture once before, but she had cast the image aside, uninterested. Her blonde hair was curly and stopped an inch or two below her shoulders. Her green cardigan was only a few shades lighter than the one she herself was currently sporting, and the hobo bag hanging from her arm was actually decent. It reminded her of something Kelsi would own. Her eyes dropped down to her boots. Oh, for the love of god. Fringe? She hated fringe. It was so 70s. _Great,_ Gabriella grimaced, _my roommate's a hippie._

"I'm afraid your old roommate won't be attending Eastwood this semester," the Dean said. Gabriella watched him take the second duffel and suitcase from the blonde girl's hands and bring them towards the others.

/

It was Queen Bee. Sharpay was going to be rooming with Queen Bee. It was like the stars were aligning to help her gain back some of the popularity she had lost at her old school. She let the Dean take the suitcase from her hand and wheel it next to what she assumed was to be her bed. The unmade mattress stared at her, saying hello.

"Sharpay, I'm afraid you don't have time to get settled in just yet. You'll have to get yourself set up after your classes. If you look through that packet, you'll find a map of the campus. Maybe Miss Montez would be kind enough to show you to your first class... I would do it myself, however I'm running late for a board meeting as it is."

Sharpay nodded at the Dean and walked over to where he'd placed her luggage. She looked down at the packet of papers, flipping through them to find the map he'd mentioned. The Dean paused in the doorframe as he turned to leave. "Welcome to the next two years of your life," were his parting words. Creepy much? As he walked out of the room, Sharpay suddenly felt threatened. It was either his words or the gamma rays of judgment shooting out of Queen Bee's eyes. Maybe both.

Sharpay stood awkwardly on her side of the room, not knowing what to do with herself. The first thought of common sense that popped into her mind was an introduction. She took a few steps towards her roommate and held out her hand in an attempt to be formal. "Hi... I'm Sharpay, I'm new."

Queen Bee looked down at her hand quizzically and raised a perfectly arched eyebrow as she made eye contact. "I'm Gabriella. I figured."

"Hey G, can I borrow your-" Sharpay dropped her hand and looked over to the door where the short blonde from the earlier group was standing. When the blonde's hazel eyes landed on Sharpay she stopped mid-sentence and a warm grin came to her face. At least _someone_ knew how to be civil. "Are you the new girl?"

Sharpay didn't notice the way Gabriella crossed her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes. She was too busy taking in the blonde's appearance and ignoring the wince that came from hearing the phrase 'new girl'. Her hair was much lighter than her own and it was cut just below her chin. The asymmetrical-ness of it was very Rihanna circa 2007. She had on a pink lace, long-sleeved shirt tucked smoothly underneath a Twenty8Twelve Matisse skirt pulled up to her belly button. She pulled the look together with a pair of lace flats. She and Gabriella seemed to have the same type of classic girly style. As she took a few more steps into the room, Sharpay realized the girl couldn't be an inch over 5'3.

"I'm Sharpay."

"Martha Cox. Pleasure to meet you," the girl smiled, and Sharpay felt slightly less idiotic knowing that she wasn't the only one who had uttered the word _pleasure_ in this decade. "So where'd you come from, Sharpay?"

"Albuquerque."

"Well, that explains the tan. But Connecticut's a bit out of the way for a school, don't you think?" There a weird, knowing tone in her voice… but Sharpay couldn't place it. The blonde looked over at Gabriella, who widened her eyes in a 'Yeah-I-don't-know-either' sort of way. She was so very confused as Martha turned back to her as if nothing had happened.

Nonetheless, Sharpay smiled. "Tell me about it."

"Cox." Martha walked towards Gabriella as she called her, taking a seat on the edge of her mattress and toying with her hoop earring. Gabriella raised an eyebrow. "You wanted something?"

"Your Euro homework? I completely forgot about it for some reason. I meant to ask Taylor at breakfast but I blanked." Sharpay looked back and forth between the two of them. Euro? As in Modern Euro AP? Were they in a class together? She could only imagine what Gabriella would think of seeing her walking into her classroom.

Whoop-dee-fucking-hoo?

"On my desk," Gabriella answered and Martha straightened her skirt as she stood up and walked over to her desk. Sharpay noticed that there were two desks in the room. One was by the entrance to the door, and it was topped with a laptop, a few textbooks, and other random objects- obviously Gabriella's. The other was barren, waiting to be used. Sharpay looked back to see that Martha was pulling a sheet of paper out of one of the thicker textbooks.

"Thanks. You're a life saver." She said, clutching the paper to her chest for emphasis.

Gabriella smiled. It was the first time Sharpay had seen her do so since she'd been in the room. "You can let me borrow your Givenchys as repayment."

Martha laughed. "The silver ones?" Gabriella nodded. "I'll stick 'em in your closet later. Just throw them back when you're done."

Sharpay's eyes widened. _Throw_ a pair of Givenchy heels? Was she crazy? Sharpay and her mom had money, but she wouldn't just go throwing her Botkier around like a Vera Bradley. How rich _were_ these people? Mid-thought, Martha turned back to Sharpay. With her rosy cheeks she looked like a five year old. "Do you have free period now, too?"

Sharpay looked down at her schedule. "No, uh... French?" She looked up to see that Gabriella's eyes were slightly narrowed at her. _What_ was Queen Bee's problem? Did she not like her New Mexican accent?

Oh, yeah. That was definitely it.

"Awh, Ry and Troy are in that class right now," Martha piped up, "Want me to walk you there?"

"That'd be great, thanks." Sharpay smiled, knowing full well that Gabriella wasn't about to offer.

"Come on. Later, G." Martha shouted, pulling Sharpay's arm out the door. Sharpay slid her purse back onto her arm as she fell into step with the petite blonde, who was reading over the homework in her hand. "Sorry about Gabriella. She's recently acquired some power in this school and thinks she can act however she likes." _Oh really? I_ _hadn't noticed_, Sharpay wanted to say. "Once you get past the whole intimidating front, she's really not so bad."

"I don't think she liked me very much." Sharpay mumbled as she thought back to the death glare, following Martha down the staircase. She kept her eyes on her feet so she wouldn't trip in her boots and make a fool of herself in front of one of the popular girls.

God forbid.

As if reading her mind, Martha laughed and looked back at Sharpay. "What? The piercing stare? Please. She gives that look to freshman at least ten times a day. And... in a way I guess you're kind of like a freshman. What with being new and all."

"She probably doesn't like having a roommate, either. I mean, that's why she was the only one in the room, right?"

"Oh no, she's had a roommate. Tiara. She was actually supposed to come back this year she just sort of... never showed up."

"Why not?"

"That's the magic question, isn't it?" Sharpay trailed her leader as she made her way through the main floor of Hale Hall. She passed a large common-room-like area filled with three large couches and a flat screen TV and tried to imagine herself sitting on one of the couches, hanging out with Martha while watching Gossip Girl. Maybe Gabriella would join them.

Maybe not.

Martha pushed open the large oak doors that led out to the quad. Sharpay squinted as her eyes adjusted to the still-rising mid-November sun. "So what are your other classes?" Martha continued, reaching out to Sharpay as she held out her schedule. The blonde looked over the yellow sheet of paper for a few moments. "Looks like you've got Creative Writing with Kelsi and- oh, we have Euro together!"

"Is it hard?" As soon as the question left Sharpay's mouth, she realized it was stupid. It was an AP course. Of course it was hard.

"It's moderate. The teacher is a total _babe_. He just graduated from Cambridge a few years back and during his lectures you completely get lost in his accent. It's mesmerizing."

"Hopefully I'll be able to keep up."

"You'll do fine, I'm sure. Here-" Martha trailed off, starting up a small set of stairs and towards the entrance of another brick building. "This is the East Wing. I think your class should be right around the corner."

/

"Numero trois, s'il vous plait, Monsieur Bolton."

Troy looked up from the chicken scratch he called homework and into the eyes of his middle aged French teacher. He felt like every time she saw her her crow's feet looked more and more prominent.

"The- uh," he stammered. Truth be told, he hadn't done his homework last night... Again... But he didn't care. Technically he'd only taken French because his girlfriend had convinced him to. But Tiara hadn't even bothered to show up to school this year. Or call him. Or e-mail. What the fuck was her problem?

"Madame Neville?"

Troy averted his gaze from the teacher to the door. Martha Cox was standing in the doorway, holding a yellow schedule in her hand. Had she been re-scheduled into this class? No. It was too late in the semester. "I've got a new student for you."

She turned to her side, revealing a tan girl in a short-but-not-slutty green dress. She nudged the girl forward with her one hand while handing her back her schedule with the other. It took Troy less than a moment to realize that she was the blonde he had seen earlier while walking to breakfast. The sound of her shutting the car door had captured his attention. He'd looked over to see her walking alone up the concrete steps into the Deans office. She had then turned back to look around- at the large quad, he reasoned. The last thing her eyes had landed on was him. When she caught him staring she'd appeared flustered, and her eyes grew large before she turned and almost jogged into the Admissions Building.

He'd known she was coming. He'd seen a picture of her- but it hadn't done her justice. What was her name… Shirley Evans? Shari? Something with an S, that much he was sure. He and the other boys at Stuart and the girls at Hale had been given information about her. The transfer moving into Hale after Tiara's disappearance was of much interest. Apparently she was important or something. Unfortunately Tiara had always been his number one so he hadn't given the new girl a second thought. Until now.

"Mademoiselle Evans?" The blonde nodded. Madame Neville smiled at her before looking back at Martha. "Thank you, Martha. That'll be all."

Martha gave Sharpay a pat on the shoulder before looking back at the rest of the class. Her hazel eyes found Ryan, who was sitting in the desk in front of him, before they fell on Troy. Troy nodded his head at her. Martha smiled and waved at the two boys before exiting the classroom. He waited until she had left the room before returning his blue eyes to the transfer. Samantha? Sarah? No... Madame Neville was handing her a textbook.

"Prendre une place," the teacher directed.

/

_Take a seat_, Sharpay translated mentally. She turned away from the teacher to glance around the room. There were four rows of desks. Four in each row. Her brown eyes found three empty seats. One was the last seat in the row closest to the door. Sitting there would make her look like a loner. She decided against it. Another was on the far side of the room, front row. Sharpay considered it.

Nerd alert!

But then she saw the last seat. Actually, who was sitting adjacent to it. Her heart sped up. She walked straight through the aisle between rows one and two, feeling Alpha Male clock her movements. She settled into her seat- third in the second row, and placed her fresh textbook, packet of papers, and purse on the desk. She looked around. Everyone seemed to have an assignment out in front of them. Sharpay didn't even have a notebook. The teacher started speaking to the class again. As she rambled off in French, Sharpay absorbed it in English: _Why don't you all just pass your homework forward for me to grade. You can pair off and work on questions for the lesson on page 94. I'll be collecting it at the end of class._

Pair off? Was this woman serious? Besides an eye contact relationship with Alpha Male- who was even hotter up close, Sharpay couldn't help but notice- she didn't know anyone. She bit her lip and watched as people around her found partners.

"Yo. New girl."

Sharpay turned to find the owner of the voice. She found Alpha Male and a blonde boy- who she recognized was also from the group this morning, as well- looking at her. She looked back and forth between them. From blue eyes to green eyes. From brown shag to blonde spikes. The two boys exchanged a look before Alpha Male spoke up again. "Need some partners?"

Sharpay examined the rich color of his blue eyes. She noticed that, only slightly, one of them was more of a blue-grey, while the other leaned more in a turquoise direction. They were both so hypnotizing that when she opened her mouth to speak nothing came out except a bunch of incoherent syllables.

And the award for best first impression goes to…

Alpha Male smirked, not removing his eyes from Sharpay's as the blonde let out a laugh. "Stop staring, Troy, before you dazzle the girl to death."

Sharpay blinked for the first time in what felt like three minutes as she looked towards the blonde. "I'm Ryan. Everett." He said before pointing a thumb to the student occupying the desk behind him. "This heart throb's Troy Bolton."

Sharpay opened her mouth again, but Troy cut her off. "Do you think you can speak now? Or should we get a pen and paper?"

"Down, Bolton. Have you been taking lessons in manners from Jason?"

"She could be a mute, I'm being considerate."

"I _doubt_ she's a mute."

"Y'never know..."

"I'm Sharpay." Sharpay threw in. As amusing as it was to watch two gorgeous boys fight about random dribble, she felt like a dunce for her previous attempt at speaking. "Evans."

Both of the boys turned their attention back to her. Troy smirked again, "She speaks."

She raised an eyebrow, trying to regain some dignity. "I breathe, too. And now that we've covered the obvious, who wants to lend me a piece of paper so that I don't fail my first assignment?"

Sharpay felt invigorated for saying what she had. It was something she would have said back home. Back where she was important. Back where she had friends. She fished a pen out of her bag, smiling at Ryan in the desk to her left as he handed her a piece of paper. So far the four people she had met were all part of the group she had seen earlier. Four of the most important people at this school- or so she thought. And she had met them. They knew her name. She knew theirs. Sharpay didn't want to get her hopes up but she couldn't help but thinking that, if she kept this up, she could work her way into their crowd. She could be walking with them in the morning. To class. To lunch. Her mind was reeling.

/

Troy was normally the first one out of his seat when the bell rang to end first period, but today he found himself moving at a slower pace. He slowly slid his pen into his pocket, closed his book, and stood up. He'd spent most of the class listening to Sharpay and Ryan converse in French. He could understand most of what they were saying, but he wasn't really paying attention. He was more focused on listening to the fluidity of her voice when she spoke the language. It was captivating. Nothing had been captivating for Troy since Tiara's eyes. But he hadn't seen those eyes since May. It was due time something new came along to capture his attention. And Sharpay was doing just that.

"See ya in Calc, Sharpay," he heard Ryan say before rushing out of the classroom to his next class.

"'Kay" was Sharpay's response as she gathered her belongings and followed his route out the door. Troy picked up his book and trailed after her.

"New girl. Hold up." He saw her tug the hem of her dress down her thighs as she spun at the sound of his voice. He couldn't help but notice how good his favorite color looked on her. The way it made her brown eyes look brighter than they probably were. The way her black bag made the green look ever greener.

Why was he noticing these things?

"What's your schedule look like?"

Sharpay held up the yellow sheet of paper, a self-satisfied grin on her lips.

"Oh good, you're a comedian," Troy rolled his eyes, plucking the sheet from her fingers. He really _had_ been spending too much time talking to Jason. Normally he would have felt bad for taunting some he'd just met- but the way Sharpay smiled at the comment halted Troy's guilt. It was like a game. A cat-and-mouse kind of flirting game- the type of game he used to enjoy before he'd met Tiara. Not that he was the type of cocky guy who flirted with anything with legs- his parents had raised him right- but it was just something he was good at it. It came naturally. He read over the list of courses on the paper, holding it back out to her once he was done. "A comedian with brains, huh? Three AP courses this semester alone."

Sharpay blushed at that, "I guess the Dean is expecting great things from me."

Troy started backing away from her. "He's not the only one." He waited to see her reaction to this- a noticeable dilation of her pupils- before turning on his heel and making his way down the hall.

"Hey, Troy." he turned around as she said his name. Her voice was like butter. She was standing in the same place, staring at him. "You know my name now. You don't have to keep calling me New Girl..."

He let a smirk cross his face before he turned around again. He walked slowly enough for her to hear his parting words.

"In due time. _Sharpay_."


	4. Not So Witty Banter

"So she's actually rooming with you?"

In the cafeteria around her, students navigated the maze of long wooden tables as they found their friends seated at their usual spots. Girls whined about homework and boys cooly chatted about what time they were hitting the fitness center after class. The mixed scents of all the freshly prepared foods sitting on their buffet-style serving tables radiated around the large. From the front of the building, one wouldn't suspect it was wide enough to fit all of the students and the kitchen staff, but it's depth once inside revealed its true size. The kitchen was actually upstairs, a small elevator in the back allowing the chefs to move the food downstairs and bring dirty plates upstairs. Tall windows allowed sunlight to stream in from either side of the building and the arched doors at the front were typically propped open when the weather was nice.

Gabriella looked up from her spot at head of the long table to the other end. "No, actually, she dumped her hand-me-down luggage in my room for kicks. My episode of Punk'd should air sometime in December."

"Just surprised they didn't put her in a single," Taylor McKessie replied in her soft, calm voice as she stared back at Gabriella. Smartest girl in their grade or not, Gabriella would not be outranked. Gabriella let out a breath and set down the fork in her hand. "Guess I'm just lucky."

"You could have done worse." Kelsi's voice chimed in, her untouched lunch on a tray in front of her while her fingers were busily at work on her phone's keyboard. "From what I gathered in Lit she seems nice. And, according to Darbus, she reads a great Beatrice."

"Who the-?"

"Much Ado About Nothing. Romance? Shakespeare?"

"Yes, I know the play, Kelsi," the brunette snapped. Her friend rolled her green eyes. "Who'd Troy read as?"

Kelsi looked up from her phone and stared at Gabriella. Gabriella stared back. Whatever her cat-like green eyes were trying to tell her, Gabriella was at a loss. "_Who_, Kelsi?"

"Chill, Montez." Gabriella's eyes shifted over to Ryan Everett's- their green color almost an exact match to his girlfriend's. "Just because you think you're in charge doesn't mean she has to answer to you."

"It was a simple question, lap dog."

"Fuck you, Queen Bee." He tilted his head, "Wait, sorry. I meant to say bitch."

"How original, Ryan. Did your daddy write that for you?"

Kelsi set her phone on the table and gave Gabriella a look. Taylor shook her head and looked down at whatever book she was currently reading. That was a low blow. Gabriella was very aware of it. Ryan's family was from California, where his father worked as a screenplay writer. His last job had been writing for the Family Guy/ American Dad/ Cleveland Show genre. The job had been short lived, however. His boss had said he wasn't talented enough to work in the comedy department. _Ouch_.

"Gabriella." Kelsi's voice was stern. The brunette glanced over to her for a moment. She watched as Kelsi put a hand on her boyfriend's thigh. Ryan, who was still glaring at Gabriella, softened at the touch. He turned his head just enough to look at his girlfriend, who mouthed a "Sorry" before leaning towards him and kissing him lightly.

"Mm. The air smells like bitch." A voice said before a tray was dropped onto the table directly across from Gabriella. Her head turn brought her to a third pair of green eyes- two much darker than Ryan and Kelsi's. Jason Cross sat down opposite Gabriella at the far end of the table. He also had brown hair similar to Troy's, except he had it styled into a perfectly and purposely messy fohawk. He was the operator of Eastwood- not the only one, but certainly the best in their grade level. He may even be better than most seniors. He had tried to swoon her freshman year, but an opposing force had gotten in the way. A curly haired boy named Nolan Clark. Still, Gabriella couldn't help but wonder every once in a while what it would be like to make out with him. Though she would never admit that. Her desire to be with Troy was so much greater. "You know I hate missing Gabriella snap at people for no reason at all. Fill me in."

"It was nothing, Jason." Kelsi lifted her hand from Ryan's leg and went back to texting. Ryan turned his focus to his freshly prepared sandwich. Gabriella felt a hand pat her shoulder twice. The way the warmth of the touch seeped right through her wool cardigan and warmed her skin meant it was only person. She smiled.

"Hey, Bolton."

"Nice sweater." He said, sitting down in the chair across from Kelsi.

_It better be. I picked it out with you in mind_. "This old thing?"

Troy smirked and leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table as he twirled open the cap of his water bottle. Gabriella looked into each color eye for at least three seconds when he looked over to her and _swore_ she saw a smile in his eyes before raising the bottle to his lips. She did her best to keep her eyes from saying, _date me already_!

Eager, much?

"So, who hasn't seen the new girl yet?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. Were they really going to start talking about _her_ again? She saw two more people sit down at the table across from Taylor and her boyfriend Chad.

"New girl?" Martha questioned, setting a pre-packaged bowl of cheerios and a little carton of 2% milk on the table. She pulled out the chair next to Zeke and settled into it.

"Yeah. Blonde. Tan. Beautiful." Jason clarified, taking a bite out of his chicken sandwich.

"Gabriella's new roommate." Martha added.

"Hot when she speaks French." Ryan finished. Kelsi used the back of her hand to smack him in the chest as he went in for a bite of his Italian sub. He shot her a grin.

Troy smirked. "Sharpay?"

Gabriella stabbed her fork into a piece of lettuce a little harder than necessary.

"_That's_ Sharpay." Jason asked, obviously remembering the name. He nodded and processed something in his head. He raised his Vitamin Water into the air as he leaned back in his chair. "To my next conquest."

Out of the corner of her brown eyes, Gabriella saw the muscle in Troy's arm tense at his statement.

/

_Conquest_. Troy gripped his water bottle a little bit tighter. Normally he was used to Jason being a sleeze-bag when it came to talking about the girls on campus. It was part of his image. But that term was reserved for every _other_ girl at Eastwood. Not this girl. Not Sharpay. There was something different about her. She wouldn't be one of the girls looking to fall into the Jason Cross Sex Circle of Shame.

Or would she?

"And speak of the devil..."

Troy looked over at Jason, and then followed his eyes to the other side of the cafeteria. There she was. Still in that striped sweater that he liked more every time he saw it. In Lit he had noticed it brought out small flecks of green in her brown eyes. They were basically invisible unless the sun hit her eyes in _just _the right way_._ He suddenly wished he could be close enough to see them right now. He watched as she and the three girls she had been with in class made their way to a half empty table and set their stuff down. Luckily enough, Sharpay sat down in a seat in which Troy could easily her. In the least stalker-esque way.

"You really aren't going to subject that poor girl to a vigorous round of Charisma with Cross are you?" Kelsi wrinkled her nose.

Troy turned his attention back to the table. Jason was nodding with his eyebrows raised- silently sounding his, "Fuck yeah, I am."

"How you get any girl into your bedroom is beyond me."

"It's not always in my bedroom."

"How classy."

"Sorry I like to keep things interesting. God, Neilson. I feel bad for Ryan. Confined the bedroom all the time? Give the man a break. Be like Tiara and Troy were."

Say _wha_?

Troy felt his eyes grow wide as he looked down to Jason's end of the table. He choked on a gulp of water. "Dude- what the hell?"

"You guys had sex?" Troy turned to see Gabriella staring at him incredulously. She leaned back in her seat and folded her arms. "Way to share, Tiara."

Troy turned back to Jason, placing his bottle back on the table before anything else happened. "How the hell did you find out?"

"Saw it with my own eyes. I'm surprised no one else did."

"When did this happen?" Kelsi asked. Her phone was closed on the table. Troy could tell she was interested.

"Last… what was it, May? Yeah, last May. When we had that party by the lake for Tiara's birthday. I was walking back to the dorm and I saw them- Jesus, Troy, I didn't realize you had the ability to turn that red. You're one shade away from a firetruck."

Troy pinched the bridge of his nose while shaking his head. "Not that this conversation isn't _terribly _fascinating, but do you think we could do a topic change?"

"Okay," Kelsi fan her fingers through her hair once. "Let's talk about how Tiara disappeared the day after you guys had sex."

Jason laughed. Troy narrowed his eyes at him. He loved the boy, he really did. But right now Troy was tempted to take his plate and hit him with it. "Dude, you must've sucked."

Kelsi leaned her elbows against the table "Shut up, Jason. It's bad enough we're talking about Tiara in front of him, let's leave his faulty sex skills out of it."

"I doubt he's bad at sex." Gabriella threw in, her arms still folded.

"Why else would she have left?"

"Hello?" Troy shouted just loud enough for the entire table to stop and look at him. "Can we stop talking about Troy Bolton like Troy Bolton is not here?"

Martha scooped up some cheerios and held the spoon next to her mouth, ready to be chewed. "Only if Troy Bolton stops using third person." Troy smirked and leaned back in his chair, trying to command his face to return to its normal pigment.

"So Jason, Sharpay? " Kelsi suggested. Troy shot her a thank-you glance and she smiled before picking up her phone once more. He silently wished the conversation wasn't about to be brought back to Jason's conquering plan.

Ryan held a piece of sandwich in his hand as he looked down at the other end of the table. Some shredded lettuce fell out and he did a double-take as if it had affected the weight of the sub in his hand. "I really think she's smart enough to steer clear of you."

"She _is_ smart enough to steer clear of him." Troy closed his eyes as he addressed the table. Trying to block painful memories of Tiara from his mind seemed much easier when Sharpay's name was mentioned. He still couldn't figure out what it was about her. He was torn between her spicy-but-sweet disposition and her seeming lack of interest in him. Because in the entire time she had been in the cafeteria he'd snuck at least eleven glances at her table, and she'd looked over, what, zero?

Seven, actually. But he didn't know that.

Troy hadn't even realized that he'd been smiling until he opened his eyes and saw Gabriella staring at him. "What?"

"You don't actually_ like_ her, do you?"

"Like who? Sharpay?" He looked over at her table again. She went from nodding slowly, listening to whoever was in front of her, and then she started laughing. There was the smile again. The smile he'd seen in French. The smile he'd seen in Lit when she was reading Beatrice's lines and he was reading as Benedick. He'd actually enjoyed class. Their lines throughout the entire scene were basically about their two characters confessing to their friends how they will never get married.

But don't they fall in love in the end?

Troy grinned. "She seems… cool."

"_Cool_?" Gabriella said the word like someone would say garbage. "She's not Hale. She's a transfer. She's not one of us."

"And that's a bad thing?" Gabriella pursed her lips. Troy shook his head. "She's your roommate now. You're going to have to learn to live with her eventually."

Live with: yes. Like, respect, or get along with: no.

Troy felt her staring into his grayer eye as he spoke. "Just give her a chance."

The sound of a wooden chair scraping against the tile floor brought both of their attentions to Jason's end of the table, where he was now standing up and running a cool hand over the side of his fohawk. Troy shook his head slowly. Did he think he was in Grease? What a tool. "Ladies and gentlemen- wish me some unnecessary luck."

Troy held back his grimace. "Enjoy rejection."

/

"It's Sharpay, right?"

Sharpay had looked over at Troy Bolton's table at least seven times since she'd walked in. The urge was still strong but she figured it wouldn't look so good if one of them saw her drooling in envy. She tried her hardest to keep her focus on what Emma was telling Jackie, Lea, and a few of their dorm friends, but when she heard a male's voice say her name she looked up so fast she nearly got whiplash.

This boy wasn't Troy. He had his hair color, but this guy's hair was lazily messed up into a fohawk. And as gorgeous as his dark green eyes and flawless skin were, she'd much rather be looking at Troy's. "Do I know you?"

Stupid question. She didn't know anybody.

"Not quite." Fohawk boy smiled and Sharpay couldn't help but smile back. His was immaculate. "I'm Jason Cross. I hear you have Modern Euro next block..." Sharpay nodded like an idiot. "Well, I'd like to know if I could escort you. I figure because you're new, you probably don't know the way around campus yet. I know it's pretty small, but allow me to be your official tour guide."

Sharpay blinked and looked over at Jackie- who was nodding vigorously- and then across the room to Troy, who was sitting with her roommate and Martha and Ryan and the other popular people. _God_, she wished she could be over there. There was an empty chair right in between Martha and Troy. It was calling out her name. A few of the people at the table seemed to be watching Jason speak to her. And for a split second she saw Troy look directly at her. But it was so fast that Sharpay wasn't sure if it was real or not. She looked back up at this Jason character. From what her eyes could gather, he was a Grade A specimen of man- from his eyes to his blue plaid shirt rolled up to his elbows to his grey hi-tops. All over perfect. And yet she still wished it was Troy.

"A tour guide would be great."

Jason grinned again and nodded. "Perfect. Meet me outside, then. There's a small bench outside. Make a left once you go down the stairs."

"Okay." Sharpay nodded and stared at him as he turned and walked away. Her eyes reflexively flashed over to Troy again. He was looking at Jason as he walked around the table to take his seat. The two exchanged some words and then Troy turned his head back over towards Sharpay.

Her breath caught. Wow, that boy did torturously wonderful things with just a look. Sharpay counted the seconds they kept eye contact in her head. Four… Five… Six… Troy's famous smirk appeared on his lips. She gazed at him for two more seconds before he shook his head, still smirking, and turned back to his table. Sharpay leaned back and sunk into her chair.

What was _that_ about?


	5. The Next Conquest

"So she's actually rooming with you?"

In the cafeteria around her, students navigated the maze of long wooden tables as they found their friends seated at their usual spots. Girls whined about homework and boys cooly chatted about what time they were hitting the fitness center after class. The mixed scents of all the freshly prepared foods sitting on their buffet-style serving tables radiated around the large. From the front of the building, one wouldn't suspect it was wide enough to fit all of the students and the kitchen staff, but it's depth once inside revealed its true size. The kitchen was actually upstairs, a small elevator in the back allowing the chefs to move the food downstairs and bring dirty plates upstairs. Tall windows allowed sunlight to stream in from either side of the building and the arched doors at the front were typically propped open when the weather was nice.

Gabriella looked up from her spot at head of the long table to the other end. "No, actually, she dumped her hand-me-down luggage in my room for kicks. My episode of Punk'd should air sometime in December."

"Just surprised they didn't put her in a single," Taylor McKessie replied in her soft, calm voice as she stared back at Gabriella. Smartest girl in their grade or not, Gabriella would not be outranked. Gabriella let out a breath and set down the fork in her hand. "Guess I'm just lucky."

"You could have done worse." Kelsi's voice chimed in, her untouched lunch on a tray in front of her while her fingers were busily at work on her phone's keyboard. "From what I gathered in Lit she seems nice. And, according to Darbus, she reads a great Beatrice."

"Who the-?"

"Much Ado About Nothing. Romance? Shakespeare?"

"Yes, I know the play, Kelsi," the brunette snapped. Her friend rolled her green eyes. "Who'd Troy read as?"

Kelsi looked up from her phone and stared at Gabriella. Gabriella stared back. Whatever her cat-like green eyes were trying to tell her, Gabriella was at a loss. "_Who_, Kelsi?"

"Chill, Montez." Gabriella's eyes shifted over to Ryan Everett's- their green color almost an exact match to his girlfriend's. "Just because you think you're in charge doesn't mean she has to answer to you."

"It was a simple question, lap dog."

"Fuck you, Queen Bee." He tilted his head, "Wait, sorry. I meant to say bitch."

"How original, Ryan. Did your daddy write that for you?"

Kelsi set her phone on the table and gave Gabriella a look. Taylor shook her head and looked down at whatever book she was currently reading. That was a low blow. Gabriella was very aware of it. Ryan's family was from California, where his father worked as a screenplay writer. His last job had been writing for the Family Guy/ American Dad/ Cleveland Show genre. The job had been short lived, however. His boss had said he wasn't talented enough to work in the comedy department. _Ouch_.

"Gabriella." Kelsi's voice was stern. The brunette glanced over to her for a moment. She watched as Kelsi put a hand on her boyfriend's thigh. Ryan, who was still glaring at Gabriella, softened at the touch. He turned his head just enough to look at his girlfriend, who mouthed a "Sorry" before leaning towards him and kissing him lightly.

"Mm. The air smells like bitch." A voice said before a tray was dropped onto the table directly across from Gabriella. Her head turn brought her to a third pair of green eyes- two much darker than Ryan and Kelsi's. Jason Cross sat down opposite Gabriella at the far end of the table. He also had brown hair similar to Troy's, except he had it styled into a perfectly and purposely messy fohawk. He was the operator of Eastwood- not the only one, but certainly the best in their grade level. He may even be better than most seniors. He had tried to swoon her freshman year, but an opposing force had gotten in the way. A curly haired boy named Nolan Clark. Still, Gabriella couldn't help but wonder every once in a while what it would be like to make out with him. Though she would never admit that. Her desire to be with Troy was so much greater. "You know I hate missing Gabriella snap at people for no reason at all. Fill me in."

"It was nothing, Jason." Kelsi lifted her hand from Ryan's leg and went back to texting. Ryan turned his focus to his freshly prepared sandwich. Gabriella felt a hand pat her shoulder twice. The way the warmth of the touch seeped right through her wool cardigan and warmed her skin meant it was only person. She smiled.

"Hey, Bolton."

"Nice sweater." He said, sitting down in the chair across from Kelsi.

_It better be. I picked it out with you in mind_. "This old thing?"

Troy smirked and leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table as he twirled open the cap of his water bottle. Gabriella looked into each color eye for at least three seconds when he looked over to her and _swore_ she saw a smile in his eyes before raising the bottle to his lips. She did her best to keep her eyes from saying, date me already!

Eager, much?

"So, who hasn't seen the new girl yet?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. Were they really going to start talking about _her_ again? She saw two more people sit down at the table across from Taylor and her boyfriend Chad.

"New girl?" Martha questioned, setting a pre-packaged bowl of cheerios and a little carton of milk on the table. She pulled out the chair next to Zeke and settled into it.

"Yeah. Blonde. Tan. Beautiful." Jason clarified, taking a bite out of his chicken sandwich.

"Gabriella's new roommate." Martha added.

"Hot when she speaks French." Ryan finished. Kelsi used the back of her hand to smack him in the chest as he went in for a bite of his Italian sub. He shot her a grin.

Troy smirked. "Sharpay?"

Gabriella stabbed her fork into a piece of lettuce a little harder than necessary.

"_That's_ Sharpay." Jason asked, obviously remembering the name. He nodded and processed something in his head. He raised his Vitamin Water into the air as he leaned back in his chair. "To my next conquest."

Out of the corner of her brown eyes, Gabriella saw the muscle in Troy's arm tense at his statement.

/

_Conquest_. Troy gripped his water bottle a little bit tighter. Normally he was used to Jason being a sleeze-bag when it came to talking about the girls on campus. It was part of his image. But that term was reserved for every _other_ girl at Eastwood. Not this girl. Not Sharpay. There was something different about her. She wouldn't be one of the girls looking to fall into the Jason Cross Sex Circle of Shame.

Or would she?

"And speak of the devil..."

Troy looked over at Jason, and then followed his eyes to the other side of the cafeteria. There she was. Still in that striped sweater that he liked more every time he saw it. In Lit he had noticed it brought out small flecks of green in her brown eyes. They were basically invisible unless the sun hit her eyes in _just _the right way_._ He suddenly wished he could be close enough to see them right now. He watched as she and the three girls she had been with in class made their way to a half empty table and set their stuff down. Luckily enough, Sharpay sat down in a seat in which Troy could easily her. In the least stalker-esque way.

"You really aren't going to subject that poor girl to a vigorous round of Charisma with Cross are you?" Kelsi wrinkled her nose.

Troy turned his attention back to the table. Jason was nodding with his eyebrows raised- silently sounding his, "Fuck yeah, I am."

"How you get any girl into your bedroom is beyond me."

"It's not always in my bedroom."

"How classy."

"Sorry I like to keep things interesting. God, Neilson. I feel bad for Ryan. Confined the bedroom all the time? Give the man a break. Be like Tiara and Troy were."

Say _wha_?

Troy felt his eyes grow wide as he looked down to Jason's end of the table. He choked on a gulp of water. "Dude- what the hell?"

"You guys had sex?" Troy turned to see Gabriella staring at him incredulously. She leaned back in her seat and folded her arms. "Way to share, Tiara."

Troy turned back to Jason, placing his bottle back on the table before anything else happened. "How the hell did you find out?"

"Saw it with my own eyes. I'm surprised no one else did."

"When did this happen?" Kelsi asked. Her phone was closed on the table. Troy could tell she was interested.

"Last… what was it, May? Yeah, last May. When we had that party by the lake for Tiara's birthday. I was walking back to the dorm and I saw them- Jesus, Troy, I didn't realize you had the ability to turn that red. You're one shade away from a firetruck."

Troy pinched the bridge of his nose while shaking his head. "Not that this conversation isn't _terribly _fascinating, but do you think we could do a topic change?"

"Okay," Kelsi fan her fingers through her hair once. "Let's talk about how Tiara disappeared the day after you guys had sex."

Jason laughed. Troy narrowed his eyes at him. He loved the boy, he really did. But right now Troy was tempted to take his plate and hit him with it. "Dude, you must've sucked."

Kelsi leaned her elbows against the table "Shut up, Jason. It's bad enough we're talking about Tiara in front of him, let's leave his faulty sex skills out of it."

"I doubt he's bad at sex." Gabriella threw in, her arms still folded.

"Why else would she have left?"

"Hello?" Troy shouted just loud enough for the entire table to stop and look at him. "Can we stop talking about Troy Bolton like Troy Bolton is not here?"

Martha scooped up some cheerios and held the spoon next to her mouth, ready to be chewed. "Only if Troy Bolton stops using third person." Troy smirked and leaned back in his chair, trying to command his face to return to its normal pigment.

"So Jason, Sharpay? " Kelsi suggested. Troy shot her a thank-you glance and she smiled before picking up her phone once more. He silently wished the conversation wasn't about to be brought back to Jason's conquering plan.

Ryan held a piece of sandwich in his hand as he looked down at the other end of the table. Some shredded lettuce fell out and he did a double-take as if it had affected the weight of the sub in his hand. "I really think she's smart enough to steer clear of you."

"She _is_ smart enough to steer clear of him." Troy closed his eyes as he addressed the table. Trying to block painful memories of Tiara from his mind seemed much easier when Sharpay's name was mentioned. He still couldn't figure out what it was about her. He was torn between her spicy-but-sweet disposition and her seeming lack of interest in him. Because in the entire time she had been in the cafeteria he'd snuck at least eleven glances at her table, and she'd looked over, what, zero?

Seven, actually. But he didn't know that.

Troy hadn't even realized that he'd been smiling until he opened his eyes and saw Gabriella staring at him. "What?"

"You don't actually_ like_ her, do you?"

"Like who? Sharpay?" He looked over at her table again. She went from nodding slowly, listening to whoever was in front of her, and then she started laughing. There was the smile again. The smile he'd seen in French. The smile he'd seen in Lit when she was reading Beatrice's lines and he was reading as Benedick. He'd actually enjoyed class. Their lines throughout the entire scene were basically about their two characters confessing to their friends how they will never get married.

But don't they fall in love in the end?

Troy grinned. "She seems… cool."

"_Cool_?" Gabriella said the word like someone would say garbage. "She's not Hale. She's a transfer. She's not one of us."

"And that's a bad thing?" Gabriella pursed her lips. Troy shook his head. "She's your roommate now. You're going to have to learn to live with her eventually."

Live with: yes. Like, respect, or get along with: no.

Troy felt her staring into his grayer eye as he spoke. "Just give her a chance."

The sound of a wooden chair scraping against the tile floor brought both of their attentions to Jason's end of the table, where he was now standing up and running a cool hand over the side of his fohawk. Troy shook his head slowly. Did he think he was in Grease? What a tool. "Ladies and gentlemen- wish me some unnecessary luck."

Troy held back his grimace. "Enjoy rejection."

/

"It's Sharpay, right?"

Sharpay had looked over at Troy Bolton's table at least seven times since she'd walked in. The urge was still strong but she figured it wouldn't look so good if one of them saw her drooling in envy. She tried her hardest to keep her focus on what Emma was telling Jackie, Lea, and a few of their dorm friends, but when she heard a male's voice say her name she looked up so fast she nearly got whiplash.

This boy wasn't Troy. He had his hair color, but this guy's hair was lazily messed up into a fohawk. And as gorgeous as his dark green eyes and flawless skin were, she'd much rather be looking at Troy's. "Do I know you?"

Stupid question. She didn't know anybody.

"Not quite." Fohawk boy smiled and Sharpay couldn't help but smile back. His was immaculate. "I'm Jason Cross. I hear you have Modern Euro next block..." Sharpay nodded like an idiot. "Well, I'd like to know if I could escort you. I figure because you're new, you probably don't know the way around campus yet. I know it's pretty small, but allow me to be your official tour guide."

Sharpay blinked and looked over at Jackie- who was nodding vigorously- and then across the room to Troy, who was sitting with her roommate and Martha and Ryan and the other popular people. _God_, she wished she could be over there. There was an empty chair right in between Martha and Troy. It was calling out her name. A few of the people at the table seemed to be watching Jason speak to her. And for a split second she saw Troy look directly at her. But it was so fast that Sharpay wasn't sure if it was real or not. She looked back up at this Jason character. From what her eyes could gather, he was a Grade A specimen of man- from his eyes to his blue plaid shirt rolled up to his elbows to his grey hi-tops. All over perfect. And yet she still wished it was Troy.

"A tour guide would be great."

Jason grinned again and nodded. "Perfect. Meet me outside, then. There's a small bench outside. Make a left once you go down the stairs."

"Okay." Sharpay nodded and stared at him as he turned and walked away. Her eyes reflexively flashed over to Troy again. He was looking at Jason as he walked around the table to take his seat. The two exchanged some words and then Troy turned his head back over towards Sharpay.

Her breath caught. Wow, that boy did torturously wonderful things with just a look. Sharpay counted the seconds they kept eye contact in her head. Four… Five… Six… Troy's famous smirk appeared on his lips. She gazed at him for two more seconds before he shook his head, still smirking, and turned back to his table. Sharpay leaned back and sunk into her chair.

What was _that_ about?


	6. The Butterflies

Sharpay crossed her right leg over her left as she sat down on the cold stone bench Jason had mentioned. There was still about five minutes or so left until the bell would ring, but if she had to sit through one more prying question from Jackie she was going to go insane. It was amazing. The girl asked at least twenty straight questions about Troy and Jason and why they were talking to Sharpay without even stopping to take a breath. "When did you meet Troy?" "How does Jason know your name?" "Did Gabriella introduce you?" "What kind of cologne does Troy wear?" "Are you going to hook up with Jason?" "What's Troy's favorite brand of-"

Sharpay wondered which was worse: being subjected to twenty questions – every seven minutes- or sitting at a table by herself. But could she really blame Jackie for the interest? Troy and Jason... it made her curious, too. At her old school, the popular kids would hardly acknowledge the new student, let alone ask to see their schedule or walk them to class. At East High 'new' had meant bottom of the food chain. What was it about Connecticut that made this school the polar opposite? Sharpay looked up. From her current position she could see almost everything on Eastwood's wide campus spaced along the courtyard. As she looked down the row of brick buildings to her right, she saw her new home.

Hale Hall was the farthest dorm from the buildings where classes were held. She hasn't noticed it while walking with Martha or the Dean, but it was clear now. There were slowly-dying-from-the-fall-chill golden flowers on either side of the stone staircase and it stood three stories tall- a whole floor lower than the dorm at its left, which had blue flowers in front as opposed to gold. Sharpay figured that this was because it was, what Emma had explained it as, for higher GPA-ed upperclassmen. Apparently it was an 'honor' to room there. That the most important people at the school lived there. The most popular. But Sharpay didn't feel important _or_ honored. And she certainly didn't feel popular. She felt annoyed. She didn't want to be there. Her roommate _definitely_ didn't want her to be there. So why had her mother locked her up here until Thanksgiving break?

Sharpay sighed and looked to the other side of campus. The line-up of buildings almost mimicked that of those on the right. There was, she guessed, a similar upper classmen dorm for the boys on this side- she took the gold flowers as an indicator. Ryan probably lived there. In French he had told her that he was taking four AP classes. Sharpay wondered if Troy lived there. And Jason. And the two other boys who had been sitting at their lunch table. They were important, right? They sure looked it. Maybe they weren't the popular kids. Maybe they were nerds. Maybe in this school nerds ran the school, and Jason just wanted to get close to Sharpay so he could drag her into their Nerd Cult.

No. No nerd could be this hot.

The vibration of her phone in her purse shook her from her thoughts. She pulled her iPhone out of the pocket she kept it in and looked at the message:

_Bored without you. Come back._

The name read: Jimmie. As in Jimmie Zara- her beautiful, popular, would-probably-be boyfriend. He had been popular from the start of high school, unlike Sharpay, even though they had been best friends since birth. His status was mostly due in part to his basketball skills. Sharpay hadn't really developed a crush on him until freshman year when he finally switched to contacts, started wearing Versace's Blue Jeans cologne, and shot up just short of six foot. He was the one who had gotten her inducted into their school's 'popular' crew because he knew it was what she wanted. Even though he had never understood why. It had taken a whole two years, but Sharpay was more than thankful for the effort. And when the Queen Bee had started her pre-acceptance hazing, Jimmie had been there to either get her out of it. Or make it easier, when that was possible. The first day he'd kissed her was the day her mother had told her they were moving.

The world had it out for her.

"I hope you know what you're doing."

The smooth voice startled Sharpay. She turned and saw Troy Bolton walking down the steps from the cafeteria with his hands stuffed into the front pockets of his slim fitting khakis- it was the first time Sharpay noticed he was wearing them. "What, no cell phones during school hours? I never actually read the manual."

There was that stupid seductive smirk again. Were variations of smug and sexy the only facial expressions he could convey? "Yes, but that's not what I'm referring to."

"Then I don't know what you're talking about."

Troy pulled his hands from his pockets and walked over to the bench, sitting down a few inches from Sharpay. He leaned forward so that his forearms were on his thighs and he was looking forward. Sharpay could practically see the wheels turning in his head. His gaze made it look like he was on a mission. But why? "Jason's... _tour_."

"Jealous you didn't think of it first?" She bit the inside of her cheek. Why had she said that? Who did she think she was? Did she realize whom exactly she was talking to?

Unfortunately his tone was teasing when he said, "Shucks, you caught me."

"Well then what's wrong? He's just showing me around."

"The last stop is his bedroom, Sharpay."

If he had said anything other than that outrageous statement, Sharpay would have been thrilled that he called her by her real name. Instead she bit down on her cheek a little harder. _Stupid. Stupid. Stupid_.

Troy, still leaning forward, turned his head towards Sharpay. His blue eyes flickered over her face. "Just thought I'd give you a heads up."

"Thanks." Sharpay mumbled. There were three feelings going through her head. One: Rage. She was going to thrash Jason. Two: Discomfort. She wanted Jimmie to fly here, hold her tight, and tell her nothing was going to happen to her. Then they could kiss and fly back to Albuquerque together. Three: Curiosity. Why had Troy bothered to tell her? From what it looked like, they were close friends. Jackie had said they were roommates- how she knew everything was beyond her. Why would he be salting Jason's game?

Not that she minded in the least.

"You alright?"

Sharpay nodded and looked away from him and down at her phone. She slowly typed out her reply to Jimmie. _Rescue me._ She swallowed a lump in her throat and looked up as the bell rang.

/

Troy couldn't tell what Sharpay was thinking. People started pouring out of the large wooden cafeteria doors and she kept her eyes on the screen of her iPhone.

"Bolton."

Peeling his eyes away from Sharpay's profile, he looked up to the staircase. When he saw Jason and Gabriella approaching he sat up straight. "What's up?"

"I forgot that I left my book in the dorm." Jason started. He looked over at Sharpay, who had yet to move. Her eyes were still staring at a text message open on her phone. Troy couldn't read it. Stupid 20/20 vision. "Do you want to wait here? You could come if you want." Troy rolled his eyes. _Going for a home run in the first inning. Well played, Captain J_. "Unless, of course, Troy here wouldn't mind grabbing mine while he gets his?"

Troy looked over at Sharpay for a moment, who looked away from her phone and up at him. There was an emotion playing in the green flecks of her brown eyes, but Troy couldn't pin point exactly what it was. What he did know is that he could have kept staring at her like that for a while. He looked up at Jason, who nodded twice. Troy let out a breath as he slowly stood up from the bench. Fine, he'd be a good friend. But Jason was going to be telling him everything when they were back in the common room later. "Yeah, sure."

"Troy, wait." A warm hand gripped Troy's forearm. An odd shiver coursed through his veins. The sort of odd shiver he hadn't felt since Tiara touched him_. Butterflies_? How was she doing this to him? Sharpay let go of his arm as she stood up from the bench, taking a step closer to Jason.

"Jason, you can get the book yourself." She said. He looked at side of her head, liking where this was going even though he didn't understand why she was smiling. He also didn't understand why the spot where her hand had touched still felt warm.

Evidently Jason didn't understand her smile either. His brown eyebrows furrowed. "Uh… okay... I'll be back in a minute, then."

"Actually, I won't be needing your help after all." Jason had started to retreat towards Stuart Hall before Sharpay spoke, and she had raised her voice to let him hear her. A few students who were walking down the steps stopped and stared at the new girl yelling at the hot boy in the quad. A girl in a crowd of sophomores pulled out her cell phone. Like she was the paparazzi.

Troy tried not to laugh at the confused expression on Jason's face, but it was hard. It reminded Troy of He looked over at Gabriella, who returned the glance with her arms folded across her chest. "What is she doing?" Troy shrugged and looked back to his roommate and Sharpay. He had no idea.

But he would love to find out.

"I don't understand." Were the only words to come out of Jason's mouth before the distinct sound of skin against skin seemed echoed around them. Students stopped in their place, mouths ajar and eyes wide. Someone in the mob gasped. Another laughed. Troy covered the smirk on his face with his fist.

/

Sharpay had never slapped anyone before, but she figured Jason would be a great person to start with. She let the palm of her right hand smack Jason's perfect cheekbone at warp speed. As she pulled her hand back she felt a slight tingling sensation from the abrupt contact. She was about to shake it off but then realize how lame she would look. She heard a few gasps around her as it happened, some laughter, but she didn't bother to look where it had come from. She kept her brown eyes narrowed at Jason's widened green ones as he raised his hand to his cheek. "What the _fuck_ is your deal?"

"Tour's been called on a count of you're a pig."

Sharpay watched as his eyes went from her to Troy, to Gabriella, and then back to Troy. "Dude."

Sharpay could hear the smirk in Troy's voice without even looking at him. "I didn't do anything."

"If you wanted to sleep with her first you could've just said so."

Another gasp in the crowd. For some reason Sharpay felt like it had come from Jackie or Emma. Her mouth dropped open slightly. But she recovered quickly as her head snapped to Troy. Troy seemed bewildered as his eyes darted from her to Jason. "I don't want to sleep with her."

Sharpay winced. For some reason or another, the words stung.

Troy somehow caught the slight movement and focused his two-toned eyes at her. "Not like that, I mean- you're beautiful, I just-"

Am in love with someone I haven't seen since before summer?

Sharpay heard Gabriella scoff, and when she looked over to see the brunette, she noticed that a large crowd of people was standing around the vicinity of the conversation and a few were walking by slowly pretending not to eavesdrop. They were doing a bad job. "Gabriella, is this the time?"

She waved her hand at him. "No, please, continue."

Troy let out a frustrated breath before looking back at Sharpay. "I-"

Sharpay shook her head. This was more than she'd signed up for. She wanted to be popular, yes. She wanted people to know her, yes. But she didn't want to be known and acknowledged as the crazy blonde who turned down Jason. "Don't worry about it." She said in a hopeful attempt to end the conversation and the stares of the nosey onlookers. It didn't do much good, however, seeing as how everyone was now staring at her as she walked away.

And the shaggy-haired heartthrob chasing after her.

"New Girl."

She kept walking.

"Sharpay."

Still kept walking.

"Shar_pay_."

Walk-ity walk walk.

"Shar?"

She froze.

It was something Jimmie would have called her. She didn't know why the nickname had come from Troy's mouth- but it was oddly comforting. It made her feel at home for the first time all day. She felt Troy's chest brush against her left shoulder at her sudden loss of movement. He circled around to meet her face to face. Sharpay looked up into his eyes. "What'd you call me?"

Sharpay watched Troy's eyes scan her face. Left eye, right eye, left eye, lips, right eye. "Sorry. I didn't know how else to get your attention. I would've called you Blondie, but last time I called Martha that she said it was demeaning because it could mean ditzy, and-"

Sharpay shook her head. "No. No, it's okay. People called me that back home, it's not a big deal."

"Well here you're going to be known as The Blonde Who Gave Jason What Was Coming To Him."

Sharpay raised an eyebrow. "Lucky me?"

"Do you know how many girls have probably wanted to do that? What you just did in front of half the school?"

"I'm guessing 'a lot' is the answer you're looking for?"

Troy's lip upturned into a sort of crooked smile. It was part smirk-part smile. And it was rated ten levels above the most alluringly charming facial expression. "You don't _really_ want to go to class right now, do you?"

She looked over her shoulder , at the buildings behind her. Class was the absolute _last_ place she wanted to be. Especially if Jason was going to be there. She turned back to him and wrinkled her nose a little. After she did, she hoped it looked cute and didn't remind Troy of a pig. "Not so much."

"Come on," he started, taking her wrist lightly in his hand. A line of goose bumps ran down her spine. What was he doing? Why was he touching her? Why was her heart beating faster? Why were these questions so important right now? "I want to show you something."

Sharpay felt a soft tug on her arm as Troy turned and took a step forward. "I don't think I'm allowed-"

He turned around, an amused smile on his lips. Sort of like the kind of smile a parent gives their child when they say something naïve. "Rules are made to be broken, New Girl."

Sharpay stood and stared at him. She knew this was very _very_ wrong. But the feel of Troy's strong hand and the look of his cool blue eyes were so _so_ right.

/

Gabriella's chocolate eyes narrowed into slits as she watched Sharpay and Troy saunter off behind the North Wing. She knew where they were going, where he was taking her. A place Tiara had told her about on multiple occasions after she and Troy had disappeared for a few hours during any given day. They'd even skipped chapel a few times. It was their secret spot. Gabriella didn't know if she should be mad that Troy was violating his relationship with her missing in action best friend or jealous that he was taking Sharpay there instead of herself.

Jealous of Blondie? Never in public, at least.

She turned on the heel of her ballet flat to look Jason in the eyes. He appeared to still be flabbergasted by the throw-down moments earlier. "Oh, Cross, suck it up."

His green eyes were sharp as they met her brown ones. "Let's have someone bitch slap you and see how fast you fucking recover, Montez."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, walking towards him. She rested her hand in the crook of his elbow and pulled him in the direction of his dorm. "Come on, you need to get your book. We have things to discuss."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "If you wanted to get me alone, all you had to do is say so."

"Never gonna happen, Cross."

/

"Can't you tell me where we're going?"

Troy smirked at Sharpay's voice a few steps behind him. "Where'd be the fun in that?"

It was only a seven minute walk to where they were headed, fifteen if you didn't know the way by heart. Troy felt he could get where he wanted to go with his eyes closed. Every log, every tree, every shrub was just as it had been last year. He'd first trekked through the unmarked path the spring of freshman year. He was trying to meet Jason and everyone for a party with some of the sophomores in the woods, but had ended up going in the complete opposite direction.

That's why no one else knew about Troy's secret thinking place. It was far off the beaten track, away from the clearing where most of the school-illegal parties took place. He rested his hand on the bark of a colorful maple tree and looked back at Sharpay, She was trying to step over a log without the heel of her boot digging into the dirt on the other side. "You okay back there?"

Sharpay looked up at him. A sliver of sunlight that had broken through the cover of the leaves above was shining across her face. It made her golden skin brighter and her brown irises glisten. "Awesome, Daniel Boone. I swear, if I get attacked by a bear or a mountain lion or something, I'll kill you."

"If it doesn't kill you first." She raised a light eyebrow, unamused. Troy laughed. "Don't worry. There's nothing like that around here. The scariest thing you'll be attacked by is a chipmunk."

"A giant Connecticut chipmunk."

"Yes. Deadly creatures." He waited until he saw an accepting expression on her face before continuing on walking. Just try and keep up for three more minutes. It'll be worth it. I promise."

As soon as he said it, the minutes seemed to fly by. The air was quiet between Troy and Sharpay, except for the crunch of newly fallen leaves and the snaps of twigs on the ground as they walked. But it wasn't uncomfortable. It was a mutually relaxed silence. Troy saw the opening he was looking for- between a massive pine tree and a tall shrub that never seemed to lose its leaves despite the cold weather that Connecticut's winters brought. He pushed aside the branches of the bush for Sharpay, "After you."

Troy smirked as she gave him a look before slithering through the open space. Troy followed her, standing at her side as she stopped and looked at what was in the clearing before them. The sun was high in the sky, making the water of the giant lake sparkle as the wind blew the water. The variety of pine trees and red, orange, and yellow maples around the edge reflected onto the water, making the entire scene look like a painting.

"Wow." He heard Sharpay breathe. She took a step forward, stopped and looked around, and then walked slowly towards the wooden dock that Troy, although it looked old, knew was remarkably sturdy. It stretched out about fifty feet into the water. Troy would always sit at the edge and try to see the fish underneath the water's surface or lean back and watch the birds fly in formation overhead.

Troy followed Sharpay's footsteps, loving how amazed she seemed to be at everything around her. She started to take a few cautious steps onto the dock, probably wanting to make sure it wouldn't crumble beneath her, and then made her way right to the end. When Troy met up with her she was staring straight out across the lake with her arms folded across her chest. "It's… beautiful."

Troy nodded. "It's no Lake Champlain… and it's nothing like Jenny Lake, but, I don't know… I think it's pretty cool."

"Cool?" Sharpay let out a soft chuckle at the word. She turned and looked at Troy. "Understatement much."

Troy turned his head to meet her gaze. There was joy in her eyes. Like the kind of joy when you're seven and you wake up on Christmas to find you got the golden retriever you wanted. She looked comfortable. And Troy was satisfied that he'd been the one to make her feel like that. Then she uncrossed her arms and lowered herself down into a sitting position, placing her purse behind her. In all the times Troy had brought Tiara out here, never had she once walked onto the dock- out of fear for her life, she claimed- or even sat down if she was wearing a dress. Sometimes not even in jeans, afraid she would get dirty. Troy would always have to carry along an old blanket so that they could sit out by the pebbly sand by the water's edge. Not that he'd minded at the time. It had just been one of Tiara's quirks. But thinking back on it now it made Troy slightly annoyed. And here Sharpay was, pulling the boots from her ankles and dangling her feet off the end of the dock. She looked like a little girl and this was her first time at the beach. Troy smiled. He was feeling it in his stomach again. Except this time it was like there were thousands of butterflies having an adrenaline rush. It was like a butterfly rager. And it was awesome.

"What? They don't have water out in Albuquerque?" Troy said, breaking the comfortable silence that had formed between them as he sat down next to her.

The corner of Sharpay's lip turned upwards. "We have swimming pools."

"You have… seen… a lake though, right?"

"Well, of course, but… These trees? The beautiful colors?" She shook her head. "Nothing like this."

"What about a beach?" He, of course, knew the answer to this. Her file- the one he'd seen- had a photo section. She was… uh… her body was… Er…

She was hot.

"My mom and I go to Maui for two weeks every summer. It was my dad's favorite place. We go for this, like, his birthday-their anniversary type thing. But other than that it's strictly New Mexican landscape for me."

"Really?"

Sharpay kicked the top of the water with her toe. A shiver ran up her arm. "Really."

Troy was silent for a moment. "What are you doing this summer?"

/

Sharpay was so busy staring out at the reflection of the colorful trees on the lake she wasn't sure if she'd heard him correctly. She was sure she hadn't. There was no way. But she'd probe… just in case. She laughed and looked over at Troy's shining blue eyes. "What?"

"This summer. You know, besides Maui."

"Um." She started, her forehead creasing. "Back home to see my friends, I guess."

"Well, I'm thinking you'll have to spare at least a week to come to the beach with me. Your lack of horizons is unacceptable."

"I don't normally go on vacations with strangers."

Troy grinned, his teeth peaking out between his lips. Ah, his lips. "I have a feeling we won't be strangers by summer."

"Oh, really?" Sharpay raised an eyebrow as he nodded his head slowly. She wasn't sure what he meant. "In that case I suppose I could consider it. Which beach?"

"Whichever you want."

Sharpay was surprised at how nonchalantly he spoke. He made it seem like she could pick a beach in Bora Bora and they'd be able to go. As if he could hear the gears grinding in her head a sly smile came to his face. "My family's big in the hotel industry. My parents practically run The Four Seasons. During the summer I just travel around. I get free board."

Wait a minute, was this boy Troy Bolton or Troy Warbucks?

"I stay at that hotel when I'm in Maui. My parents got married there."

"My dad would love to hear that. He loves hearing feedback."

Sharpay bit her lip to keep from smiling at the thought of meeting Troy's dad. Did Troy look like him? Is that where he got his gorgeous eyes from? "So you just… travel by yourself?"

"Well, no. I normally bring a friend or two at a time. Except last summer I sort of just-"

Sharpay didn't think her phone was possible of vibrating so loud; she turned around as Troy's eyes went to her purse, pulling out her phone. _I'll save you from the hoity toity WASPs. Just let me dig out my Superman cape._

"Better offer?" Troy guessed. Sharpay looked up, grinning.

/

"Huh? No, it's just-" Troy cocked a brow at her stumbling words and slid the phone from her fingers.

He read over the last text bubble on the screen before reading the name of the sender. Jimmie. Who was Jimmie?

The boy making him jealous, clearly.

He covered his questions with a forced smirk and held the phone back out to her. "Your boyfriend thinks I'm hoity toity?"

"He's not my boyfriend."

The way Sharpay said this was sullen. Like Troy had struck a nerve. An alarm went off in his head to try to fix it, but wasn't telling him how. He didn't want her upset. He wanted to see her smile. Always. Did that sound too extreme? He didn't care. Something in his stomach was telling him to do something. Anything. Fast. "Sorry… I didn't mean to pry or open a wound or anything."

"It's not a big deal," She lied almost-convincingly, gripping her hand around her phone. "I'm here, he's there. It can't happen."

There was disappointment in her voice. Troy could hear it- and he didn't like it. And not because of the jealous twinge he was feeling, but because of the butterflies. The butterflies that had come out of nowhere and attacked him. The butterflies didn't want Sharpay to be sad, or hurt, or angry, or anything relative to the negative. The butterflies wanted Sharpay to have that sparkle in her eyes when she'd first seen the lake and the happiness it brought along.

Troy studied her profile momentarily before raising his hand to gently rub her back over her sweater- purely supportive, nothing creepy. Or so he hoped. She shuddered slightly at the contact. "You'll find someone else. Someone new. Someone better."

Sharpay inhaled and looked over at Troy. The smile was back in her eyes and the butterflies did a nose-dive. "Hope so."

Troy knew what was going on.

The butterflies wanted Sharpay.

_He_ wanted Sharpay.


	7. Dazzling

"I'd hate to say it, but I think it's time to go back."

Sharpay had been thinking the words, but she didn't want to say them out loud. She was at such peace where she was right now. At the lake. With Troy. She liked sitting next to him. They'd been talking about everything from childhood pets to favorite foods. And Troy actually seemed to be interested in her answers. Unlike guys who asked those types of questions just to try to hook up- which was probably how Jason operated. In the hour they'd been hanging their feet off the dock, Sharpay had learned things about Troy that had taken her years to learn about Jimmie.

She knew that he had three dogs at home-an Australian Shepherd named Bones, a Border Collie named Lucy, and a Norwegian Buhund named Summer. He wanted a fourth dog- a Bohemian Shepherd, but his mother had drawn the line saying that the three dogs weren't getting enough attention when he was away at school and they were working. There was no way she was going to be able to remember any of these breeds tomorrow, but she appreciated his detail at the moment. Their non-hotel home was located in Westchester, and that's where the dogs stayed because they couldn't all be in the suite. There was a wide spacious yard for them to play in. Sharpay had laughed. Her mom wouldn't even let her have _one_ dog, even though she'd asked for a teacup maltipoo every year for Christmas and her birthday since she was six. "I'll buy you one," Troy had laughed. "I'll hold you to that," She had countered, disbelieving. "I promise," he'd sworn, offering a business deal-like handshake.

She knew he had his own presidential suite in the Four Seasons in Manhattan that overlooked Central Park. She knew his parents constantly traveled and were rarely home, but they called him and stayed involved and he thinks so highly of them. She knew that his favorite color was green, just liker hers, and that his birthday was October 18th.

She knew he had a girlfriend named Tiara, that she used to be Gabriella's roommate, and that she disappeared last May. She knew that when he talked about her he scratched the back of his neck. Sharpay couldn't figure out if it was a nervous-thing or an I'm-so-in-love thing. She hoped it wasn't the latter. She knew she had unique grey eyes that had every fleck of color imaginable in them when the sun was shining on them. She also knew that there was no way that, even if it were the slightest bit possible, she could ever be to Troy what Tiara was to him.

But that wouldn't stop her from trying.

And anyway, he said he was through waiting for her. He wasn't even sure if they were still together. He hadn't spoken to her in months and he didn't know why. He said he didn't want to be miserable while he waited for her. That as much as he loved her, he had to move on, because she obviously had moved on from him. This gave Sharpay a glimmer of hope. She sighed and lifted her feet onto the dock, reaching to get her boots back onto her feet. It _was_ her first day of classes, so she figured it'd be best to go back before she got expelled upon her first day of enrollment. "I guess that'd be the smart thing to do."

"Well, we don't _have_ to be smart."

Sharpay grinned. "You already made me ditch my first class. I don't think it'd be smart for me to miss two."

Troy smirked. "I didn't make you do anything. You're the one who followed a stranger through the woods."

Oh… right.

Sharpay felt her cheeks flush. Stupid smirk. Stupid charming boy. Stupid thumping in her chest. She leaned her head forward and let her hair shield her red cheeks from Troy's view as she slid her other boot on. "We're not strangers," was the only thing Sharpay could think to say. It was partly true, after all.

"No, I guess we're not." Troy agreed. He stood up from his sitting position and brushed off the back of his pants. When Sharpay looked up at him he was holding his hand out to help her up.

"How are we going to explain being an hour late to class?" She questioned, gripping Troy's hand and holding her dress down with the other. She let her hand linger in his a moment longer than necessary, but Troy didn't seem to mind. _Good_, she smiled internally. Because she certainly didn't.

"I'm tight with the nurse." He answered confidently as Sharpay bent to pick up her purse, sliding it into the crook of her elbow.

"For your sake, I hope so."

/

"Commence adoration stage… _now_."

Troy walked out of the infirmary waving two slips of blue paper in his hand. Sharpay, who had been leaning against the cement staircase, turned her head up towards him. She shook her head. "I didn't think you could do it."

"Which was a mistake on your part. I should hold onto this pass out of spite."

Sharpay pursed her lips. "Would a reward make up for my doubt?"

Troy walked down the steps slowly, watching Sharpay's eyes. Reward, huh? "Depends what you had in mind."

Troy watched as she bit the corner of her lip, probably racking her brain. After a moment she took a step closer to him. "I could…" She started. Troy was almost sure he could feel her breath. That's how close she had gotten. Her brown eyes were bright underneath her thick lashes as they went from looking from his right to his left eye. She smelt like vanilla and pine. The pine was probably from hiking through the woods, but whatever. The vanilla was alluring. And tempting. And delicious. She'd also applied lip gloss since Troy had entered the infirmary. It wasn't colored but Troy could see its sheen reflecting from the sun. God-fucking-_damnit_. Sharpay was teasing the hell out of him without even trying to. Or maybe she _was_ trying to. What a sneaky little transfer she was. A gust of fall air blew Sharpay's curls forward and the vanilla scent hit him again. He swallowed the lump in his throat, silently ordering his brain to calm the fuck down.

It was love at first… smell.

Wait, _love_? Troy blinked, amazed with himself. Sharpay leaned forward, but he was so preoccupied watching her lips that he didn't notice her hand reach towards his to pull one of the blue slips from his fingers. With a small smirk she took a step backwards and said "Thank you" in a breezy _Gotcha!_-type voice. Troy let out a huff of disbelief.

Girls did not seduce Troy Bolton: Troy Bolton seduced _them_.

/

Being that close to that much perfection and _not_ jumping on it? Do you know how much will power that took? Sharpay's entire body was still buzzing as she made her smooth exit. She didn't know what she was more surprised about- the fact that she had made Troy think she was going to kiss him, or the fact that he looked like he wanted her to. The blue in his eyes gave him away. Sharpay knew that the second she took that one step closer towards him that something was happening to her. She felt a weird pull in her chest that made her want to turn around, but she didn't. She knew that if she looked into those blue eyes for one more minute she would go weak at the knees and turn into a love-struck teenager.

But apparently, that's what she was becoming.

Love? No. Not love. She could not be in love with Troy Bolton. She just met the boy, what, five hours ago? There was no way. Love at first sight was reserved for Disney movies and Nicholas Sparks novels. She didn't believe in it.

Which was true… until today.

She took about four steps on the cobblestone pathways that connected the buildings before realizing she had no idea where the hell she was going. She turned around on her heels, the fringe on her boots swishing and her dress fluttering around her thighs. Sharpay felt her already pounding heart speed up as she caught Troy's eyes momentarily look down at the movement. She felt his eyes burning into her legs long after he had stopped looking. He raised an eyebrow, smirking that mind-jellying, stomach-tickling smirk. "Yes?"

"Must you always look so content with yourself?"

Troy took a few steps forward, the corners of his lips still upturned as he stopped a few inches from her. Even with her two-inch boots, she still had to look up to make eye contact. She stared into his more-turquoise eye defiantly. "I make you nervous."

Sharpay blinked. _Fuck_. "No you-"

"And that's why you feel the need to be rude."

"I am _not_ nervous around you." Only after the words left her mouth did she realize how much like a seven year old she sounded. She may as well have stomped her feet and pounded her fists.

Troy let out a laugh, staring down at her. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. I think it's cute."

Then he _walked away_. Just walked right on by, brushing his shoulder against hers purposely as he walked down the path. Sharpay spun around. "Cute?"

He turned to look over his shoulder. "Yes, Cute. I don't know what it means in New Mexico, but here it's a compliment."

Sharpay grabbed his bicep as she caught up to him, causing him to stop and look at her. "You're doing it again."

"What?" He smirked. Sharpay shook her head. He was just doing it on purpose now.

"Smirking. And being smug. And dazzling. And-"

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"You think I'm dazzling?"

Sharpay pressed her lips into a straight line. Had she said that out loud? She hadn't meant to.

"I said hassle…ing."

How convincing.

Troy grinned and turned towards a set of small stairs leading into one of the buildings. "Sure you did."

So she thought he was dazzling. Interesting. Try as he may he couldn't keep the smile off his face. "You really need to stop walking away from people when they're talking," he heard a voice call from behind him, followed by the sound of heels hitting the cement hallway floor.

He turned towards the staircase, not looking back at Sharpay as he addressed her. "I thought you wanted to go back to class."

"I do. But you…" She let out a frustrated grunt. Troy smirked. "Could you just stop for a minute?"

He stopped at the top of the staircase and waited for her to climb the remaining stairs. He could hear his, or rather _their,_ teacher's voice coming from the classroom just down the hall. Something about a test and studying. Ugh, studying. The only think he wanted to study at the moment was Sharpay. Her brown eyes were staring up at him. "Yes, New Girl?"

Her face dropped of any previous amusement. "Seriously? We've reverted back to that?"

"We haven't reverted to anything." Sharpay looked down at her boots for a moment. Troy's brows furrowed. "Sharpay?"

She looked up at him. "Did you actually choose khakis this morning by personal preference or is there a dress code?"

"Did you actually just ask that?" Sharpay raised an eyebrow, challenging him. He narrowed his eyes playfully. "Yes, there's a dress code. Khakis aren't mandatory. You're supposed to wear them to chapel but no one ever does. But I ran out of jeans to wear. I don't exactly enjoy doing laundry."

"Smug… _lazy_… but not smelly. You're not bad, Bolton."

He grinned down at her and she grinned back. And they stood there staring at each other for a few seconds, unmoving. Like they shared some sort of weird, unspoken bond. He turned and held out his elbow to her, playing. "Fake a stress migraine and we'll be fine."

Sharpay, although shaking her head, wrapped a hand into the crook of his elbow and strode towards the classroom. Troy caught another whiff of vanilla. His grin turned into a smirk. "And, about you thinking I'm dazzling…"

/

Gabriella heard a muffled I'm-trying-to-disguise-my-laugh-by-coughing cough come from the doorway. She looked away from Jason, whom she'd been talking to, and saw Troy and the Too-Tan Tramp waltzing through the doorway as if there wasn't only three minutes left of class. And her hands were around his arm, and he wasn't bothered by it, and Gabriella thought she was going to explode. Who did this girl think she was? Queen E-fucking-lizabeth? No. _She_ was the queen around here. Not her.

Jealousy? Party of one? Your table is ready.

She watched as Troy led Sharpay up to the teacher's desk. The desks in the room were set up debate style- three rows on one side facing three rows on the other side, the teacher's desk at the head overlooking it all like a judge in the court. The teacher accepted the blue infirmary sheets and handed Sharpay a massive textbook that was sitting on his desk. He'd probably been expecting her, like, an _hour _ago. Gabriella wondered how Troy had managed to get a nurse's pass for ditching. Though she knew it wasn't hard- guys like Troy could get anything they wanted.

Gabriella was happy to see that when Troy turned to take his normal seat, next to her, he hadn't bothered to see where Sharpay would sit. It would have been amusing to watch the new girl scan the classroom nervously, but of course there was an open desk in the front row on the other side of the room, directly in front of Jason. Gabriella turned her head to the side and saw Jason glaring up at her through his girlishly-thick lashes. She reached over and pat his arm but he just shook his head, mouthing the words "Hate her".

Gabriella returned her gaze to Sharpay, who was staring back at her. What in the world? She smiled and Gabriella scoffed quietly, looking over at Troy in the seat to her left. He was smiling, too. What was this game? She didn't understand. But then it finally clicked- they were smiling at _each other_. Smiling like a little kid in a candy shop. Like a scholarship student who heard he just got into Harvard. Like Matthew McConaughey when he heard he actually got the role for another movie. Like-

Well, you get the idea.

Gabriella's forehead creased. What the _fuck_ in _hell_ happened in the woods? She turned to Jason in the seat next to her. He was still looking over at Sharpay, but as if feeling her gaze, he turned to meet her eyes. "You need to find out what happened."

Jason leaned back in his seat, pushing his textbook closed with his hand. "Why me? You're her roommate."

"Yeah. And you're Troy's. I'm not speaking to the Boho Barbie doll."

"Speaking of Barbies… She and Martha look kind of cozy."

Gabriella turned her head and looked across the room. He was right. Sharpay was chattering away with Martha, who was in the seat next to her- across from Gabriella- like they'd been friends for years. God, this girl was taking over her room, her Troy, _and_ her friends. Fucking. Awesome.

The bell rang. And Gabriella was almost expecting Sharpay to rush over and cling to Troy like… like… a pair of stockings that just went through a tumble cycle with a wool skirt. She didn't though. And Troy didn't' t make any advance towards her- just stood up from his desk and walked towards the door he had entered all but a moment ago. He did, however, turn back to give Sharpay a look. He had his adorable smirk on his face and Gabriella couldn't figure out what his eyes were saying. But Sharpay seemed to be able to read the blue orbs, because she had to bite her lip to hold back a smile. Oh no. Not happening. Troy was her wool skirt.

Hers, hers, _hers_.


	8. Devil In Disguise

"It's really easy, I'm sure you'll be able to catch up."

"I hope so." Sharpay laughed, following Ryan out of their AP Calculus class. She was pretty good in math, but catching up was going to be harder than it sounded seeing as how the only thing she could focus on during class was Troy. He was a disease. Rigging her subconscious with an ever-existent photograph of his gorgeous face. That shiny hair. Those enticing eyes. Every tangent line she saw equaled a smirk. How was she going to get through the semester like this? Ryan shouting out the name "Kels!" brought her back to the present.

"Hey Ry." Sharpay looked over to Ryan, who was wrapping an arm smoothly over a girl's shoulders. Sharpay recognized her from Lit class, and Troy's table at lunch. She'd been sitting across from him, texting, every so often joining the conversation or tossing her auburn hair over her shoulder. And here she was again, maroon SideKick in hand while she curled an arm around Ryan's waist. They shared a quick kiss before Ryan steered her forward, up to where Sharpay had moved. She had begun walking with hopes to not be the third-wheel weirdo watching a boy and his girlfriend kissing.

"Sharpay, have you met Kelsi?" He said, falling into step with Sharpay. Sharpay looked over, shaking her head. Only now had she realized how tall Ryan was. He wasn't as tall as Troy, but still taller than Sharpay by an inch or two.

Kelsi looked up as if she had just realized Sharpay was there, flipping her phone shut and sliding it into the back pocket of her jeans. Sharpay blinked. Her eyes were a magnificent shade of green. Darker than Ryan's, but not darker than Jason's. Too many emerald-eyed beauties in one place. "Gabriella's roommate. I've heard."

"Uh. I- uh," Sharpay stammered. How was it she could talk to Troy and stand up to Jason without a problem but when it came to talking to Gabriella or Kelsi she turned into a babbling fool?

Kelsi smirked, glancing at Ryan. "Is she okay?"

"Turn off the eyes, I think you're intimidating her."

As Ryan said this Sharpay noticed Kelsi's green eyes soften slightly. They remained dark but something about them changed. It was almost like they became…friendlier? How did she do that? "Nice to meet you."

"You too."

"Were you planning on going with her to The Center later?"

Sharpay squinted as the three of them made it out the large wooden doors, the sun still streaming down. The Center? What in the world. Like a mental health center? Did Kelsi think she was crazy? She didn't want a repeat of earlier, so she tried, as casually as possible, to say, "The what?"

"Fitness Center? Gym. Whatever you want to call it."

_Fitness_ Center. Right. Wait- was Kelsi saying that she _needed_ to go to the gym? Did she think she was fat? Why did she care so much? Why was she so worried about her opinion? Would Troy be there? Did _he_ think she was fat? Why was she jumping to so many conclusions? Maybe she _was_ crazy.

"Earth to Barbie." Kelsi whistled.

"Kels." Ryan mumbled.

Sharpay hadn't realized she had dozed off again. If she had she may have been offended. She broke her focus away from the random tree across the quad and looked at Kelsi. "I guess I could go." What else did she have to do? Unpack her stuff while Gabriella glared from her side of the room?

As much fun as that sounded…

"You can come with us if you want. You probably don't know anyone yet. And you probably don't want to log those god-awful fitness hours all by your lonesome self."

Was it just Sharpay or was there a condescending tone in her voice? Sharpay smiled. "Sure. I mean- that'd be nice."

Sharpay looked up at Ryan, who grinned and pulled back his arm. He switched his Calculus book into his other hand, kissing the top of Kelsi's head as the cobblestone path they were on split two ways. He backed away, eyes going back and forth between Kelsi and Sharpay. "See you at dinner, then?"

Sharpay nodded and Kelsi smiled, pulling her phone back out from her pocket. Who was she always texting? Sharpay wanted to ask. Yeah, because that wouldn't be invasive at all. Kelsi caught her staring at her phone as they continued walking towards Hale Hall. "Never seen a phone before?"

"No, I- I mean- I-"

"Relax!" The cat-eyed could-be-a-model ordered. "I'm not Angelina Jolie. No need to go Zac Efron on me."

Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek, looking down at the fringe on her boots. Her eyes caught a brief glimpse of the cheetah print on Kelsi's boots. Or was it leopard? Was there a difference? Determined to retain some sort of dignity- if that's what it was- she lifted her head. Kelsi's fingers continued to move furiously while the pair walked past dorm #1 and dorm #2. It wasn't until they walked up the stairs to Hale Hall that she closed her phone, placing it in her purse this time.

"Kelsi, I'm having a problem with my stupid phone." Sharpay looked over towards the common room she had passed this morning. Martha was standing up from one of the dark blue couches, looking down at her phone with confused eyes.

Sharpay figured that the silent walk back to the dorm was awkward enough, so she walked away from the other girls, towards the staircase. She made it up the flights of dark, mahogany floors to the third floor, trying to remember how far down the hallway it was to her room. Luckily she remembered, passing two doors on the right side of the hallway until she reached room 305. She stood in front of the door for a few seconds, and the thought crossed her mind that maybe she should knock. But it was her dorm, right? She took a deep breath and held it, turning the doorknob and pushing the door open. When she found the room empty she let her breath go, walking across the room to her bed. She dropped her purse on her desk, where all of her textbooks were now sitting. She took a seat at the edge of her now-made bed. Her giant, green fleece blanket was peaking out from underneath her purple bedspread. The same went for the forest green pillowcase hiding underneath the purple one. This mis-matched decoration was the only thing she'd managed to get done during her free period- well, that, and throw a few things in the slightly-lighter-than-the-floors wood dresser next to the window. She wondered why Gabriella hadn't chosen the bed on the side of the room where the window was. It was rather large and had a campus view. Sharpay had stood in front of it for a good twenty minutes, watching students go in and out of buildings and walk along the smoothed-down cobblestone walkways.

"Uuggghhhh," was the noise that came from Sharpay's mouth as she fell back into the mattress. All she had to do now was sit and wait for Gabriella to come back to the room. Something that Emma had said at lunch in reference to the dorm popped into her head. _"They only let certain people in."_ Certain people. Sharpay hadn't asked what she'd meant by those words, but now she wished she had. She suddenly found her herself curious of all the things that were different about this dorm. It was a floor shorter than the other two. There were gold flowers lining the staircase. This dorm room was… exceptionally large. There was more than one bathroom in the building- she and Gabriella's was connected to the dorm next to theirs. It had a wide mirror, a large shower, and two sinks. And 'higher GPA-ed ' students? How high could a GPA get? You needed at least a 3.30 to get into the school itself. _Why_ was this dorm so special?

Gabriella had anticipated coming home to a nice quiet room. A nice quiet room not filled with some blonde New Mexican and her pile of luggage. When she pushed the door open she saw Sharpay's unmoving body atop her bed. She must've come back and put sheets on it during her free period. She didn't appear to have heard her walk into the room. Or maybe she was just ignoring her. Or maybe she was dead.

No, it couldn't be that easy.

Gabriella cleared her throat loudly, causing Sharpay to spring up from the mattress in shock. She smirked, placing her clutch on top of her bedside table. "Unpacked, I see."

She walked towards the wide mirror-covered closet on Sharpay's side of the room; sliding open the door to kick her ballet flats in. Sharpay looked over at the large suitcase and duffel still untouched at the foot of her bed. "I, uh, just got in."

Gabriella slid the door back closed and walked over her bed, sitting on top of the mattress. She ran a hand over her grey and lavender taffeta silk down comforter. "There should still be some closet space on your side when you _do_ decide to unpack. I can't promise anything though."

"Thanks." She watched Sharpay bite her lip, pulling the duffel onto her mattress and unzipping it. Gabriella's brown eyes watched as she stood up and brought the bag over to the closet almost hesitantly. She wouldn't make eye contact as she bent down to pull shoe after shoe out from it.

Gabriella let a few moments pass, staring at the back of her sweater. If she didn't dislike her so much she would have complimented her on it. A wave crashed over her that maybe Troy was only attracted to her because she was wearing green. Troy loved green. He had even told her last year that he wished he had green eyes instead of blue. Gabriella, however, loved his blue eyes. Ryan and Jason had green eyes. Chad and Zeke's were brown. And Troy's were different. Especially because they didn't match each other. His grey eye was the first thing she'd ever noticed about him.

It was the first day of her freshman year at Eastwood and Gabriella was trying to find her way to Latin. She was walking through the halls of the East Wing and had stopped to look down at her map and schedule. Troy had been talking to another boy, who later turned out to be Jason, and walked right into her. To her 14 year old self it had seemed like fate the second she looked up into his blue-grey eye. She had sat with the two of them at lunch along with a girl Jason had met in his US History class- Tiara. Troy had grinned that same magnificent smile at her, and had practically fallen in love with her then and there. Gabriella had already lost Troy to Tiara. She wasn't about to lose him to Sharpay too.

Something vibrated inside Sharpay's black purse and Gabriella looked over at the Botkier as she straightened up from her spot near the closet. Without a glance in Gabriella's direction she pulled her iPhone from the satchel. She watched her blonde roommate's face light up as she stared at the screen for a few seconds. She typed something and then set it down. When Sharpay looked over at Gabriella she pretended to be fascinated with an invisible piece of lint on her sweater.

"I'm gonna- I have to-" Sharpay stammered. Gabriella looked up from her sleeve. "Um, bathroom."

"What, do you need help?"

Gabriella watched as Sharpay hurried over to the bathroom, swinging the door shut behind her. Her dark eyes moved from the door to the iPhone sitting on the bed. She was suddenly wondering if it was Troy who had texted her. If so… one peak wouldn't hurt, right?

Wrong.

She slid off the bed and padded her bare feet over to Sharpay's side of the room. She looked over at the bathroom door again, which was still closed, before picking up the case-less phone. She looked down and saw a screen of text bubbles still on the screen. She smiled slightly when she realized they weren't from Troy. Instead they were from someone name Jimmie. Jimmie sent a picture of, what Gabriella assumed was, himself along with a brown dog. The text underneath said _'He doesn't miss you as much as I do'_. So Blondie had a boyfriend, huh? Troy would just _love_ to hear this.

Gabriella placed the phone back on the purple comforter as she heard the toilet flush. Moving over to the dresser that held all of her non-hangable clothes, Gabriella knelt to reach the bottom drawer and plucked out a pair of black yoga pants. Five minutes ago she was dreading going to the Fitness Center, but now she had a mission. One she would accomplish to push Operation Goodbye-New-Girl into effect. Finally.

Gabriella pulled out a sports bra and a green tank top from the same drawer and pushed it closed with her foot as she stood up. Sharpay came out of the bathroom as Gabriella was sliding her cardigan from her shoulders. Gabriella looked over at her roommate with the most genuine fake smile she could muster on her face. "Sharpay?"

The blonde's head whipped around to her direction. She was probably shocked that Gabriella was talking to her. Gabriella was shocked too. "Yes?"

"Dean told you about the Fitness Center, right?" Gabriella smiled when Sharpay nodded. "Well me, Martha, and our friend Kelsi were planning on going in a few minutes. You can come if you want."

Gabriella could tell Sharpay was trying not to seem too excited. "Yeah... Kelsi told me... I just have to find some clothes first."

Hate you.

"Great."

/

"Dude, have I mentioned that I _love_ the gym?"

Troy sat up from his lying position on the bench press, figuring if Jason was checking out girls that he probably wasn't going to be any further help as a spotter. The last thing he needed was a stick of iron to the jugular. He scratched his forearm and looked up at the sea of exercise machines. Treadmills, bicycles, cross ramps, and ellipticals galore. "Only about four times since we got here."

Jason smirked and gave Troy a pat on the back. "Come on, man, get back in the game. Look at the ocean in front of you. Pick a fish and move on."

Troy rolled his eyes. He hated when Jason started using metaphors to describe women. His parents had raised him very old-fashion, and his manners and chivalrous mindset contrasted Jason's point of view on just about every topic including women.

Jason whistled. "Look. At. Those. Legs."

Except for this one.

Jason was probably so busy staring at the pair of black shorts that he did not notice the pair of legs he was referring to belonged to a blonde girl wearing a University of Albuquerque sweatshirt. Troy smiled. Sharpay. She was walking behind Kelsi and Gabriella with Martha at her side. They maneuvered their way through the mass of students trying to log their fitness hours until they reached the end of the room where the lifting equipment was located. When the pack stopped in front of the boys Kelsi took a seat on the open bench next to Troy, sounding her hello with an acknowledging, "Bolton."

"Neilsen."

Troy watched as Kelsi pulled her phone out of the pocket of her black sweatpants. It always amazed him how she could text all day long and still hold up a conversation in the real world. He had met Kelsi back in freshman year, but the text-mania hadn't started until earlier this year. The summer prior she had gone with Ryan out to California for summer break. The story was that she had been spotted by a modeling agent out when they were visiting Ryan's dad on a studio lot, and she was now the face of some clothing brand that Troy couldn't remember. The fact that once every couple months she would fly off somewhere for a shoot reaffirmed the story. When Troy asked Ryan about her texting he would shrug his shoulders and suggest the name of some industry player Troy had never heard of. Managers, photographers, other models of the sort. Or when Ryan was feeling insecure he was say it was her secret boyfriends from Milan that she texted constantly to make up for the time difference between them. Said his name was Paulo. Troy reassured him otherwise.

"Hey bitch." Jason's voice was loud.

"Hey slut." Sharpay shot back. Her usually warm brown eyes were dark.

"I'd prefer _player_."

"I bet you would."

"Come on Sharpay, let's use the ellipticals." Troy looked over at Martha, who was pulling Sharpay over to the large grey machines, probably knowing that she was about to attack Jason. Or that he was going to unleash a storm of demeaning insults. Troy managed to make eye contact with Sharpay for only a moment before she followed Martha's five-foot-three body.

"Don't get too attached, Troy." He turned toward Gabriella, who had noticed him staring at Sharpay's retreating frame.

"Excuse me?"

"I see the look in your eyes. You used to stare at Tiara like that freshman year." She seemed unenthusiastic as she swung her bottle of Smart Water at her side. "Moving a little fast, don't you think?"

Troy scratched the back of his neck. How did she remember that far back? "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Please. You're like a little boy and she's the shiny new toy. You only _think_ you want her because your old toy, Tiara in this case, broke."

"Tiara is _not_ a toy. And neither is Sharpay. They're girls. One girl who ran off and another who-" is beautiful, witty, and interesting? "...who's my friend."

"You like her more than a friend." She said plainly.

Troy looked up at her. "Why are you so interested?"

"Because I care about you. And I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Me neither, bro." Jason mumbled, leaning an arm against the barbell behind Troy. "Sharpay is no good. You saw what she did to me.

"What, stand up to you? Yeah Jase, she's the devil in disguise." Troy shook his head, looking from his roommate to Gabriella. Why were they ganging up on him?

"She has a boyfriend."

Wait. Rewind.

Troy tensed up as his eyes focused on Gabriella. "Sorry?"

"His name is Jimmie."

Troy let out a small laugh, visibly relaxing as Gabriella's forehead creased in confusion. "That's not her boyfriend. He's her friend from back home."

"From the text I read earlier they're more than that, Troy."

This time it was Troy's forehead that wrinkled. "What were you doing reading her texts?"

Gabriella's eyes widened, and she crossed her arms over her red tank top. "That's beside the point. The point is she's leading you on while she's already taken by this Jimmie fellow."

"She told me, straight out, that he wasn't her boyfriend. I believe her."

"Would I lie to you?"

Yes. Yes she would.

Troy blinked. He turned to look at Sharpay on the elliptical. He didn't think Gabriella would lie to him, but at the same time he knew Sharpay wouldn't either. Was it weird to have that much trust in a person he'd just met? The butterflies in his stomach were confused. Sharpay _had_ been awfully happy when she had gotten Jimmie's text at the lake. And maybe she had been sad when Troy had used the term 'boyfriend' when referring to him was because she was upset that she was so far away from him. Pieces of a seemingly convincing puzzle started to fit together.

Too bad he didn't know that a certain brunette had created the puzzle.

"I'm sorry if I made you upset."

Troy saw Sharpay laugh at something Martha said, loosing her balance momentarily as she broke out of stride with the machine's movements. He was not going to let himself be a pawn in some sort of game. He was only just getting over Tiara. He wasn't going to fall for Sharpay and then have her leave him too. Troy Bolton was done being played. He looked back over at Gabriella, whose eyes were filled with what looked like concern and he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. "It's fine. Thanks for telling me."

Gabriella smiled. "I'd do anything for you, Troy."

Even if it means putting your happiness on the line for my own selfish gain.


	9. The Question Game

"Troy? Troy, wait up."

Troy heard Sharpay. And he knew that she knew that he heard her. But he kept walking. He was barely five feet out the door of the Fitness Center when her hand lightly grasped his forearm. It was going to be hard to avoid direct contact with Sharpay when she was touching him and her brown eyes were looking up at him curiously. He felt like they saw right through him. They probably did.

"Why are you-" She took a breath. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing." Troy shook his head. Something in Sharpay's expression showed she wasn't convinced, but she let loose his arm anyway. It left a spot of warmth. "Just hungry. You know… Dinner calls."

"You sure?"

Troy nodded. What the fuck was wrong with him? Even if she _did_ have a boyfriend that didn't mean he couldn't still be friends with her, right? Right. So why was he acting like a giant wuss?

"Are you... I mean... Did I do something?"

"No. You didn't do anything." The last thing he wanted was her thinking his passive attitude was because of her. Even if it was… in some form or another. Or was it Gabriella's fault for telling him? He didn't even know. But when he looked past Sharpay's shoulder, lo and behold, there Gabriella was, raising her eyebrow at him. Troy shook his head slightly. What the hell was he doing? "Walk with me?"

Sharpay nodded slowly, shifting uncomfortably in the Nikes she reserved for the gym. Troy looked at Gabriella once more, who looked like she was trying to not seem like she was spying. But he knew she was. He took a step backwards on the cobblestones that led back up to the dorms, waiting until Sharpay fell into his slow pace. He let a few quiet seconds pass, trying to think of the best way to go about finding out what he wanted- no, needed- to know. He wished he could just say, _Hey Sharpay, Gabriella went through your phone and has me convinced you're dating some boy named Jimmie that you said wasn't your boyfriend, care to elaborate?_ And really, why couldn't he? It was truthful. And direct. And to the point.

And weird.

"Let's play the question game."

Sharpay looked up at him, pulling her arms back into her sweatshirt and crossing them across her chest. "Sure. You first."

"Hm." Be cool, Troy. "Why'd you transfer here?"

He, of course, already knew this. He knew a lot of information about Sharpay. But he couldn't let her know this. It would be bad for business. She'd find out eventually…. "Mom got a giant promotion. More money. Company car. Big house in New Haven and an apartment in Manhattan. With all the money she's making I guess she wanted me to go to school with other kids whose parents made money? I honestly don't know. I haven't really talked to her about it."

"That's nice of her. You know, to consider your feelings in the decision."

"I guess." She mumbled. Troy stole a glance of her out of the corner of his eye, watching as she pushed a stray blonde curl behind her ear. "My turn?" Troy nodded, not sure if she caught the movement or not. She did. "Did you and Gabriella ever date?"

Troy almost laughed. Almost. It came out as more a snort. Sharpay looked up at him. Troy shook his head with a grin on his face. He and Gabriella? Was she kidding? "No."

Sharpay's eyebrows dipped. "Why not?"

"I believe that's more than one question."

"Then make it even by making your next question a really good one."

Oh, it would be.

Troy shrugged and put his hands in the pockets of his blue basketball shorts. "I don't know. She's beautiful, I guess, I just… I was already taken in by Tiara by lunchtime the first day of school. I never really thought of her in a she-could-be-my-girlfriend kind of way. Still don't."

/

All Sharpay wanted was one more question: "Do you see anyone else like that?" She knew what his response would be though. He'd put on that sexy smirk of his and say, "Like who?" Or something similar. She took a breath, swallowing the third question lodged in her throat. "Your turn."

"Tell me about Jimmie."

Sharpay took her bottom lip in between her teeth. Troy's response was without hesitation, leading her to believe this thought was what led to this question game. But why? Was he jealous? Intimidated? Interesting. "That's not a question."

"Let me rephrase then. Would you like to tell me about Jimmie?"

Sharpay was about to rebut his statement again, but as she looked up at him, into his eyes, her mind went blank. The corner of his mouth was turned up ever so slightly, but she could see a wide grin lighting up this eyes. If there hadn't been lights shining across the campus grounds, she would have sworn they were what was keeping the area lit right now.

It was all very poetic.

"He's… my best friend. I can't remember a time when I haven't known him. He plays basketball and he's one of the funniest people I know. Sometimes when I was sick he'd come over with cans of chicken noodle soup and we'd eat it straight from the pot. I'd always tell him not to because he'd get sick but he would just laugh and tell me he'd rather stay home sick with me than be at school. Jimmie's just… " Sharpay wasn't sure what Troy wanted to hear about Jimmie. She was rambling off useless information that he probably didn't want to know. But then again maybe he did. She snuck a glance at him from the corner of her eye only to see him smiling while he kept his head turned forward. "What?"

Troy kept his head forward. "You love him."

Sharpay's mouth dropped slightly and Troy inclined his head towards her. "Don't deny it. I can hear it in your voice."

There was a blush creeping up Sharpay's neck- she could feel it. She folded her arms across her chest. No one knew she loved Jimmie. Not Jimmie. Not her best girl friend. And here Troy was, calling her out by just the tone of her voice. "I'm not-"

"Yes you are. I used to talk about Tiara like that."

Sharpay told her cheeks to lose the color. "Used to?"

"I've... moved on."

"Probably won't see Jimmie again until June. I guess it'd be best to do that, too."

Troy shrugged. "That's up to you."

Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek. She knew that was true. She wanted to be over Jimmie, because really, the next time she'd see him he'd have some cheerleader girlfriend. And that would be a whole lot easier to deal with if she wasn't infatuated. She unfolded her arms and let them fall to her sides. She hadn't even noticed that Troy had walked her to the steps of Hale Hall. She looked down at her feet, moving to stand on the bottom step of the cement staircase. Was this going to be one of those awkward goodbyes? Should she hug him or something? Thank him for walking her home? No. No that'd be stupid.

She opened her mouth slightly, hoping that maybe the right thing to say would just come out on it's own. She picked at a loose string near the wrist of her sweatshirt, waiting until she had something to say before looking at him. She had to say something witty. Something to make him smile. Something... something Tiara would say. Which would have been a much easier task if she actually_ knew_ her. But maybe if she could channel some of this seemingly-perfect girlfriend into herself, Troy wouldn't think of her as just the New Girl. And maybe more as... _his girl_. Troy and Sharpay... Sharpay and Troy... Hm...

She looked up and saw Troy and his curiously turquoise eye tracking her movements. As if he could hear her thoughts, a small smirk appeared on his lips. His lips. Ugh. She really needed to stop looking at them. His eyes were torment enough. "Are you one of those girls who don't eat, or were you planning on getting some dinner?"

On cue, her stomach let out a growl. Sharpay's hand instinctively flew to her flat stomach. Troy's smirk widened slightly, a sliver of white chiklet teeth peaking through. "I'll take that as a yes." He breathed a laugh and Sharpay's breath caught slightly as the muscle in his bicep flexed. Reflex or not- this boy was in shape. "Meet me right here in twenty minutes. I'll walk you."

" 'Kay," was the only syllable she could choke out. She blushed at her own stupid inability to form a coherent sentence. Troy lifted his hand as a parting message while taking two steps backwards, never removing his eyes from hers, before turning and walking straight across the quad towards his dorm.

Sharpay remained frozen in her spot, watching his frame go further and further away. For some reason, even though she knew he'd be in front of her again in twenty minutes, she didn't want to be leaving her right now. Just as she turned to hurry upstairs to do a twenty minute shower-and-prep session, Sharpay was almost sure she saw Troy turn to look back at her. She was too giddy and nervous to turn back and look. She pulled her ID card from her sweatshirt so to let herself into her new home. Her living arrangement wasn't the only thing that was changing from being at Eastwood. Never before had Sharpay found herself blushing so many times in one conversation. Not even while talking to Jimmie. And never before had a boy caused her to think what Sharpay thought was unthinkable:

Jimmie _who_?


	10. Emotional Time Warp

Fuck Sharpay for getting home first.

Gabriella ran her fingers through her wet hair. She shifted her chocolate eyes to watch Sharpay on the other side of the room through the mirrored closet doors. By the time she and Kelsi had walked back from the gym, Sharpay was just getting out of the shower. Now she was applying some sort of gel to her rib-length blonde hair to make it wavy. Gabriella smiled as she looked back at herself and her dark wet waves. There was something she could hold over Blondie's head.

Yes. Because possessing wavy hair is a valuable trait.

Sliding the closet door open, she knelt down to find a pair of red flats to match the cardigan she had on over her Rachel Pally wrap dress. As she slid it on she caught movement in the mirror. Sharpay was rifling through one of her suitcases in a pair of skinny jeans and a white camisole. Gabriella rolled her eyes. If that was how Blondie wanted to make her first impression, so be it. She picked her Vera Wang Lavender Label ballet flats out of the closet.

"New Girl."

Gabriella turned to see Kelsi standing in the doorframe- hair already dried and straightened, wearing a pair of black leggings and a long-sleeved Rag & Bone raglan sweatshirt. Gabriella straightened herself up and slid into her flats, raising an eyebrow as they made eye contact. She could have sworn that there was a hint of mischief in her green eyes, but Kelsi looked over at Sharpay before Gabriella could be positive.

"Troy says he's actually skipping dinner so you shouldn't bother waiting for him outside."

Any trace of excitement left her face. "Oh. Um-"

"But he said something about meeting him at a river… Or a pond? It was some body of-"

Gabriella tried not to glare as Sharpay's face lit back up. "Lake?"

Kelsi pointed a manicured finger vaguely. "Mmm, that's it."

Sharpay smiled, pulling out a dark red knit sweater Gabriella guessed was Free People from her suitcase and sliding her arms into it. Gabriella looked over at Kelsi, who, sensing her disappointment, gave her an apologetic shrug. This was supposed to be _her_ going on late night walks with Troy. Her pretending to be cold so that Troy would put his arm around her. Her kissing Troy under the stars.

Not that she was jealous of Blondie or anything.

She hadn't even realized that she had floated off into Gabriella Bolton dream world until Sharpay's voice disturbed her thoughts. "And he'll meet me?"

"He said you'd know the way."

"Right." Blondie bit her lip, her feet now covered with a pair of black Uggs. Gabriella's mind nearly exploded. She owned _Uggs_. She would have to make sure those things got nowhere near her Louboutins. "Thank you."

"No problem." Kelsi droned, seeming bored with the message she'd been asked to relay.

"I'll, um…" Sharpay started, looking from Gabriella to Kelsi. "Go now."

Gabriella lowered her eyebrows as Sharpay tucked her iPhone into her back pocket and scurried out the door. _Die die die_.

"Come on, let's get some food in you." Kelsi sighed at Gabriella's exasperated face and walked towards her, she linked her arm with hers and pulled her towards the door. Gabriella grabbed her phone from her dresser and gripped it tightly, pretending it was Sharpay's overly golden head.

/

Sharpay was thankful that the sky wasn't completely black yet as she took a few steps into the woods behind one of the school buildings. She wasn't sure if she knew exactly the way to the lake Troy had led her to earlier, but she figured she would manage. She stepped over a small log, practically bouncing with excitement. Troy wanted to meet her at his special place. He clearly liked her. It was the only explanation. Why else would he bring her to the place he had only ever brought his ex-girlfriend to. The thought of Tiara made her slightly intimidated, but if Troy thought that Sharpay was worthy enough to bring to the lake, maybe she had nothing to worry about.

/

"Who the hell does Albuquerque think she is?" Gabriella whined, unable to keep a cool appearance now that Sharpay was off gallivanting with Troy and Kelsi was the only one by her side. She ignored the whispers of the other girls coming from their dorms as they walked along the cobblestone path that led across the quad to the cafeteria. She could tell all of the Theory and Ralph Lauren clad students were trying to seem casual as they eaves-dropped on the conversation, hoping to learn information that would earn them gossip points when they retold it to their friends.

"Perhaps talking to Troy has given her a bit too much confidence." Kelsi said, sliding her phone closed and holding it in her palm.

"The girl can't even form a sentence around me. What does he see in her?"

"It's called transference. Because he had been with Tiara since what- age 13?- his affections have been pulled towards the first new object he sees after losing her."

Gabriella sucked in a deep breath. "So technically, if I, god forbid, had been the one to move from Albuquerque, he'd be wanting me and not Barbie?"

Kelsi nodded. "More or less. He doesn't really like Sharpay. He's just being drawn subconsciously towards her. Tiara had blonde hair, right? Well the way I see it, Sharpay's hair triggered some sort of… emotional time warp… that's transferring all of his emotions in the past to his psychological need to have a girlfriend in the present."

"God Sigmund Freud, did you do research or something?"

"I may have done a research paper on the topic for Psych last year, but that's beside the point." The corner of Kelsi's lip turned upward and Gabriella let out a soft laugh. "Troy hasn't been alone since freshman year. His brain is tricking him into believe that Sharpay is what he needs."

"But-" Gabriella let out a frustrated grunt. As accurate as the information was, she just didn't believe it. She couldn't. She wouldn't let herself. Even though Kelsi's words were suggesting that Troy wasn't really attracted to Sharpay in the least and it was all a mind game he didn't know he was a part of. And that was a very, _very_ good thing. "I mean, Martha has blonde hair. Why wouldn't he just _transfer_ onto her? Or one of the seniors? Lily or Brooke or-"

"Because he's used to Martha. To Brooke and Lily- who doesn't even have blonde hair, by the way. They're already a part of his life, as friends, not someone he finds himself attracted to."

Gabriella's eyes grew wide. She suddenly felt pathetic and useless. Two feelings she never felt. Nonetheless, if she did, they were not expressed through her voice or eyes. She couldn't help it. "So basically, it's the same thing for me then? I'm already in his life. He already sees me as a friend. And if he isn't attracted to me, then what the _fuck_ chance do I have?"

Her voice squeaked as the sentence came out, and Kelsi grabbed her arm, stopping her walk. A few girls couldn't help but stare at the two friends as they walked around them. Gabriella pulled her arms away, crossing her arms over her chest. Kelsi's green eyes bore into her chocolate ones. "Gabriella Montez, I know you are not thinking of giving up. This girl is kicking you out of the race and you're just going to throw in the towel? You'd be killed in the modeling world, G. You know how many times I've had to fight for a job?" Gabriella blinked, finding it hard to believe that gorgeous Kelsi would have to even _try_ to get a job. She was shorter than other models, sure, but what she lacked in inches she made up for in cheekbones. "Are you going to let this girl turn into Queen Bee as you become _number two_?"

Gabriella raised an eyebrow at her friend. "_You're_ number two in the present."

Kelsi stood up taller, straightening her shoulders. "I know. And if you become number two I'll become number three. And I don't think I'd fit very well into Martha's small shoes."

A moment of silence passed. Gabriella stared at Kelsi. Kelsi stared at Gabriella. Then the two burst out into a fit out laughter. As soon as Gabriella could form a sentence, she nudged Kelsi's arm with her elbow, leading her back in the direction of the cafeteria. "Alright, you win. Tomorrow I'll launch my full scale effort on Operation-Goodbye-New-Girl."

"That operation could be in effect sooner than you think.."

Gabriella had no idea what Kelsi meant. But she absolutely loved the sound of it. The sooner Sharpay was out the better.

/

Sharpay reached the open space of the lake in about ten minutes. She knew the only reason she had gotten there was so fast was because she had become impatient and excited and broke into a sprint through the trees. It was amazing she'd even gone in the right direction. She took a few steps over the dirt and looked around, disappointed when she didn't see Troy or his perfection anywhere. Sharpay took a breath and walked towards the dock. She had probably left before he did, and the running didn't help the time difference, either. She pulled out her phone, maybe she could talk to Jimmie for a while before Troy came.

No service.

Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek. She had had service earlier that day. It had only been one bar, but still, it was enough to receive Jimmie's text. Suddenly she felt stranded. She walked towards the dock slowly, counting the dark, cold seconds until Troy would come and keep her company.

Hopefully he'd bring a blanket.

/

Gabriella pushed open the heavy oak door to the cafeteria, taking a step inside and out of the light drizzle that had started to fall from the dark, clouded sky above. She felt a cool breeze as the door closed and Kelsi stepped in beside her. Her dark eyes fell onto their normal table. She saw Ryan nodding over at the two of them, at which Kelsi flashed a grin. She saw Taylor's head buried in a different book than she had been reading at lunch. She saw Chad and Zeke too busy stuffing their faces to acknowledge anyone else. She saw Martha laughing at some story that Jason was using his hands to tell. Before she could take another step, she saw what could possibly be the best thing she had seen all day. Troy. Without Sharpay. Sharpay-less. Lack of a blonde lackey at his side. However you phrased it, it was amazing. It was like Christmas came early.

Ho, ho, _hoe_.

He was twirling a spoonful of sauce-covered pasta on a fork, looking at his bowl while nodding his head at Ryan, who was now explaining something to him. Gabriella stared at the back of his shaggy, brown head for a few more seconds, admiring him, before turning her head to Kelsi, who once again stood taller in a pair of black booties.

"I thought you said-"

"Sooner than you think, remember?" Kelsi whispered while texting on her phone, a smirk appearing only to disappear before walking to their table. Gabriella's lower lip dropped at her best friend's move.

Operation Goodbye-New-Girl-Via-Death-By-Bear-Attack. The name was long, sure, but the idea was brilliant. Gabriella was just jealous she didn't think of it first.

/

Sharpay felt like she had been sitting on the dock for hours. Besides the moon and the stars reflecting off of the lake's waves it was pitch black- and to be honest, Sharpay wasn't too big a fan of being alone in the dark. It was only when she pushed herself up from the cold wood that she felt a drop of moisture hit her cheek. She tilted her head upwards, catching a second raindrop on her cheek. _At least I'm not wearing heels this time_, Sharpay forced herself to think. And once she realized that that was the only good things about this situation she hurried over to a giant tree whose branches deferred the direct fall of raindrops on Sharpay's blonde head. Was this how she got back to Eastwood? She turned her head, looking at the other trees and shrubs. They all looked the same in this dim light. After minutes of debating which would lead back to her prison of a dorm room, she lowered herself into a sitting position. She leaned her back against a rough trunk of an old tree and pulled her knees to her chest. As if to make her situation just a _little_ more horrible, she heard the howl of a coyote.

She leaned her face on her knees, trying to preserve what little warmth she had on the November night. _Stupid girl_, she cursed herself. _Stupid lying Troy. Stupid Kelsi for giving me his message. Stupid Eastwood. Stupid mother for subjecting me to this._ As the list grew longer Sharpay tilted her head back against the tree. It was then that the rain picked up it's pace, echoing it's fall against the leaves. She scoffed to herself.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me."


	11. Tomorrow

Sharpay hadn't shown up for dinner. Whatever. If she wanted to stay in because she felt homesick, that was fine. If she didn't want to see anyone, that was fine. And if she didn't want to eat breakfast, that was fine, too. Troy didn't care. He didn't care at all.

Except… he did.

He leaned against the thick cement railing outside the cafeteria, waiting for Ryan, Kelsi and Gabriella to come out so that they could walk to the East Wing together. He had stepped out early to get some air- that felt particularly refreshing due to the heavy rain that had washed over campus the night prior. Last night Sharpay had seemed fine. Not homesick at all. She had looked, dare he say, excited to have dinner with him. And he had been excited that she had been excited. But now he didn't know what he felt. It was a mixture of curiosity and confusion with a hint of underlying rejection. And he didn't understand it at all.

"Come on, Bolton. Can't let you be late to French, now can we?" Gabriella's voice interrupted his thoughts as she slid her arm onto his forearm and walked them in the direction of the East Wing. He could hear Kelsi's heels hitting the stones behind him as he passed a group of freshman girls staring at he and Gabriella, probably thinking they were a couple. The only person he wanted people to think he was the boyfriend of was Sharpay- since Tiara was obviously out of the question. He nodded his head at them, a piece of hair falling in front of his eyes as he did so. Troy tried not to laugh as they giggled to one another. He shook his head, swinging his notebook and French textbook in the hand opposite Gabriella. The only thing getting him through this walk was the thought of Sharpay sitting near him in class. Speaking French. It was hot.

He picked up his head and looked forward. It was like the world could read his mind. There she was. The object of his thoughts: Sharpay. She was walking out of the woods only about thirty feet in front of him in a pair of jeans and a red sweater. Her black boots were muddy and her hair was unkempt. It looked to Troy like she had just been caught in the middle of a war zone. He felt Gabriella's grip on his arm stiffen momentarily, as if she had taken in Sharpay's appearance as well. "Sharpay." He called, slipping his arm out from Gabriella's grasp. Her head turned upward, noticing him for the first time.

/

Sharpay watched Troy pull away from Gabriella. Of course he wouldn't want her to see him with Gabriella. The girl he _really_ liked. The reason he needed to get Sharpay lost in the woods and eaten by a moose or something.

Moose attacks: The leading cause of death to boarding school students.

He walked towards her, closing the space between them, but Sharpay kept her lips in a straight line and her eyes as he got closer. The earnest, worried expression on his face would not lead her to think otherwise. She would stay strong.

When Troy reached her, his eyebrows were down but his eyes were wide as they took in her most likely rugged appearance. He carelessly dropped his French books and put his hands on either side of Sharpay's shoulders- covered by a dirty half-soaked red Free People sweater her mom had given her only a week before. Despite how furious she was at him, she couldn't command herself not to feel the electric heat that spread through her body when he touched her. _Strong, Sharpay, be strong. Don't give in._

"Get. Your hands. Off of me." She said through her teeth, trying not to hate the way Troy pulled back and held his hands up, looking like a criminal. A wounded criminal. Ryan, Kelsi, and Gabriella appeared behind him. Gabriella looked her up and down, as did Kelsi as she dropped her SideKick into her black Balenciaga City bag.

"Are you... I mean, what-"

Sharpay interrupted Troy's stammers. She opened her mouth to continue but let out a sneeze instead. Great, she was sick now, too. Maybe catching a case of life-threatening pneumonia would get her out of this hell her mom called school and back home to recover.

A girl can dream.

Ryan cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Eh, God bless you?"

She gave him and his comforting eyes a forced thank-you smile before turning back to Troy.

He still seemed perplexed. "Can you just... tell me what's wrong?"

Sharpay let out a laugh at his words. "Like you don't know, Troy. Your plan of let's-get-Sharpay-lost-in-the-woods-in-the-rain didn't work as well as you thought. But you win, alright?" She looked over at Kelsi for a moment. Then back to Troy. "I'm leaving. I'll tell my mom I want to transfer somewhere else."

"I don't-" Troy's eyes went from Sharpay, to the woods behind her, to Sharpay's clothes, and back up to meet her gaze in the matter of a second. Sharpay went to brush past him, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"What part of 'hands off' don't you understand?"

"I'm not letting you go until you tell me what it is you're talking about. Sharpay, please, just… look at me."

/

This was killing him. He felt like the butterflies in his stomach were taking turns at kicking his heart back and forth like a soccer ball. To see Sharpay like this, so broken and obviously hurt over something Troy didn't understand. And now she wasn't even looking at him. Why wasn't she looking at him?

"Why should I?" Sharpay mumbled. "Want to admire your work?"

"What work? I- Sharpay. How long were you in the woods?"

"Oh, I don't know. Well the sun rises at what, six? And if it rises in the east… Since dinner?"

Troy's eyes went wide in reflex. She'd spent all night alone in the woods? In the rain? In the dark? Was she crazy? Sharpay must have misread his eyes, because when her brown eyes did decide to meet his, there was a sort of painful-mockery in them. "Yes, Troy. You know, when you said you'd meet me at the lake?"

"When did I... I'd never let you walk there by yourself, it's dangerous." Sharpay scoffed, looking away and towards the quad where students were walking to class, oblivious of the situation a few feet away. Troy sighed and used his other hand to grab the arm he wasn't already holding, forcing her to look into his eyes. "You told Kelsi to tell me that you were feeling homesick, and were going to sleep through dinner. You said you weren't going to meet me outside because you weren't up to it."

Troy was confused. So very, very confused. Sharpay's brows knotted together, showing the confusion that was in Troy's mind. "I didn't tell Kelsi anything. She said you were skipping dinner and that you wanted to meet me at the lake. That I would know how to get there. Which I did, I guess, until it got dark, started raining, and I couldn't tell where the fuck I was."

/

Shit. Shit. Shit.

With every beat of her rapidly paced heart that was all Gabriella heard. They were caught. It was over. Sharpay would tell the Dean. She and Kelsi would be kicked out of Hale. Out of Eastwood. She'd have to go to- she shuddered- a private school. Or worse, a public school. Gabriella stood silent next to Kelsi, digging the heel of her Gucci kitten heels into the wet ground nervously. She couldn't let Troy be mad at her. Her mind started searching for a way to flip the situation around.

Easier said than done.

She saw Troy's grip on Sharpay's arms loosen into more a hold. "I would never send you into the woods by yourself. Let alone at night or in the rain. You can't really believe that."

"I don't know what I believe." Her roommate said in a low tone.

Troy bit his lip, staring down at Sharpay for a few second before letting her arms loose completely. He turned towards Gabriella and Kelsi, his normally bright grey/turquoise eyes becoming dark in a split second. Gabriella had never seen Troy like this before. She didn't like it. It was kind of hot... but still. Not a fan. "Kelsi. Start talking."

She watched as Sharpay folded her arms across her chest. The more Gabriella looked at her, the more she actually felt bad. She looked soaked, and the whipping November wind couldn't help her be any warmer. She wanted to give her a blanket or something. Not that she was about to give this girl any sort of maternal comfort. She still hated her.

"It was a joke. An initiation sort of thing. We all had to go through something set up by the seniors when we moved into Hale. You can't just walk into that dorm, Troy. You get chosen. You're in Stuart. You should know."

Gabriella bit the inside of her lip and Troy looked down. Initiation was not something you talked about in public. Kelsi knew that. Troy knew that. Sharpay didn't know that. She saw her fidget uncomfortably from the corner of her eye. When Troy looked back up at Kelsi, his eyes hadn't changed. "Well if you hadn't noticed, Nielsen, you're not a senior. You don't make those decisions. And you don't send people into the woods alone. I highly doubt that Lily gave you that sort of _initiative_ power."

Gabriella shifted on her feet, noticing how Troy's lowered his voice at the mention of Lily and initiation. Lily Moore was the Gabriella of the senior class. The senior Queen Bee. President of Hale Hall. Hands down female leader of Eastwood. She had pin-straight black hair and enticing dark blue eyes. She was easily five times prettier than Tiara- and _that_ was saying something. She lived, of course, in Hale Hall, overseeing all the going-ons at Eastwood. This included knowing all the right gossip, making sure to attend only the acceptable forest parties, coordinating rides to parties in the city, approving the boyfriends of every Hale girl, and of course- initiating those she found worthy of living in it. Gabriella had yet to speak to her about how Sharpay had gotten in, but she'd been planning on it ever since Dean Lucas came in with her suitcases.

Kelsi pursed her lips and looked over at Gabriella.

Troy's eyes were dark as he looked back and forth between Gabriella and Kelsi. "Were you a part of this, Gabriella?"

Gabriella's brown eyes shot open. "_What?_ Troy, no-"

/

They were incredible. Absolutely in-fucking-credible - and not in a good way. Troy couldn't ever understand how they thought this was suitable initiation. He didn't like the idea of having to be initiated at all, but still, he understood the rules of their dorms and the price that came along with living in them. James Wiley- so called _alpha-male_ of the seniors, Stuart Hall, and Eastwood- had sent him into the Dean's house to steal the glass-enclosed first ever-typed copy of the Eastwood Student Handbook, while the Dean was sleeping, as initiation. It had been hard, sure. But nothing like being stranded for hours in the forest by yourself. Initiation was always conducted within school grounds. The rules of the dorms were simple but made to be followed- in Stuart _and_ Hale. Troy knew James. And he knew Lily. And he knew neither of them would have agreed to the sort of initiation Sharpay had been subjected to.

"Guys, she could have been attacked by a bear. A coyote. "

Troy turned to meet Sharpay's wide light brown eyes. "You said there wasn't anything like that out there."

Troy opened his mouth and then closed it. Not knowing what to say, he shrugged. "I didn't want you to be scared. You were with me, I wasn't going to let anything happen to you."

Despite the situation, Sharpay smiled slightly. The corner of Troy's lip curved upward at this, and his normally bright eyes came back for only a moment until Kelsi spoke up.

"Take it down a notch, Bolton, it's not like I sent her out there with slab of sirloin."

"You may as well have."

Kelsi rolled her piercing green eyes. "Enough with the dramatics. She's here, she's fine. We can all go to class now."

Ryan held out an arm to block Kelsi's attempt at leaving. "Kels, you know the rules."

"You too, Ryan? Really?" Kelsi let out a huff of disbelief and Ryan stood his ground. Troy made a mental note to congratulate his friend on standing strong against Kelsi's glare. "Alright, I'm sorry. I stepped over the line. But Troy, Tiara doesn't-"

"You talk about her like she's still here. She's gone, Kelsi. She left me. Left Hale. Left Eastwood. As far as I'm concerned, her opinion on the case doesn't matter."

"_That. _Right there. That's exactly why I did it Troy. Do you see what Sharpay's arrival has done to you? You love Tiara. And then Blondie-" Troy grew more and more annoyed at the sound of Kelsi's voice. Especially when she didn't have the decency to call Sharpay by her name. And especially when Sharpay flinched at it. "- here comes along, you pretend like Tiara never existed. Well, _news flash_, she did exist. And she is still part of your life. No matter how hard to try to pretend she never was."

/

Sharpay swallowed the giant lump that had formed in her throat. She folded her arms across her chest as a strong gust of wind blew through the air. She took turns looking at the people in front of her. Once they had brought up the word 'initiation', she had all but zoned out in confusion, but somehow she had managed to keep herself following the conversation. As her eyes landed on Kelsi- green eyes smoldering as they stared Troy down- she sneezed again, covering her mouth and nose with her wet-sweater covered palms. God, cable-knits were heavy when they were soaked with rain.

Troy turned to look at her, and Sharpay sniffed back the sneeze. He took a step towards her, unzipping the grey Diesel sweatshirt he had on over a white Lacoste polo and holding it in his hand for her. Somehow he made breaking the no-white-after-Labor-Day rule work to his advantage. "You'll be warmer in this. Just take off the ice box sweater first."

Sharpay smiled, shivering as she unfolded her arms to peel off the sweater. She hadn't realized how much of a gentleman Troy was until he looked away when it became known that all she had on under the sweater was the white camisole. She could tell he was looking at Kelsi, however. "Now do yourself a favor and apologize. And maybe I'll consider not telling Lily about this, if she doesn't already know."

For the first time, there was fear in Kelsi's eyes. But she was able to keep them in a glowering manner. "You wouldn't."

"Do you _really_ want to test that theory?"

When Sharpay had finally gotten the sweater off of her, she reached for Troy's sweatshirt, and he looked at her, offering to take the wet sweater from her hands. He returned her smile before turning back to the redhead. Kelsi looked at Ryan, who had disappointment written all over his face, and then at Gabriella, who for the first time since she had arrived, seemed nervous. She slid her arms into Troy's larger sweatshirt and felt the heat of his skin still burning against the light layer of fleece inside. As she pulled the zipper up to her chest and burrowed her cold hands into the pockets, she caught the scent of Troy's cologne. It smelt kind of floral… but woody… and refreshing… and it was alluring… and Sharpay wanted to bury herself in it.

"Fine." Sharpay looked up at Kelsi, who tore her eyes away from Troy to look at her. "I'm terribly sorry to have subjected you to a lonely, wet night in the woods. Please forgive me."

There was a pause as Sharpay deliberated denying the fake apology. She looked over at Gabriella, whose eyes probably would have been pleading if she were not trying to hold herself with dignity. Then she looked at Ryan, who had more apologies in his green eyes than his girlfriend had in her voice. Finally, she looked at Troy, into his turquoise eye. He shook his head as if to say she didn't have to accept the horrible attempt at an apology.

She turned back towards Kelsi and took in a breath. Well, if Kelsi didn't have to mean her apology, Sharpay didn't have to mean her acceptance of it. "Sure. I forgive you."

The corner of her mouth curved upward. And Gabriella must have thought that Kelsi was going to say something else, because she grabbed her best friend's arm and pulled her back towards the East Wing, whispering furiously, like a mother scolding her child.

Ryan, who had been watching his girlfriend and her Queen Bee walk away, scratched the blonde hair just above his right ear when he looked at Sharpay. "I'm sorry, Evans, I never would have guessed-"

"It's okay, Ryan. I just-" Sharpay sneezed again. "I think I need to get out of these clothes."

Ryan smiled, starting to walk backwards to the East Wing. "I'll tell Madame Neville you're talking to your counselor."

"Tell her I'll be late, too." Troy volunteered. "I think she should go to the infirmary to make sure she didn't catch the flu last night. I'll escort her."

"Troy, really, I'm fine. It's just a-" Sneeze.

Troy smirked at her and Sharpay sighed, taking a few steps towards Hale Hall. "Fine. But can I at least get dressed first, _dad_?"

Troy bent down and picked up his French books from the damp grass. "Only if you never call me that again."

"Deal."

/

"One of the first things Dean Lucas told me was that boys weren't allowed in the girl dorms."

Troy took a seat on the edge of Gabriella's grey comforter-covered bed. "If you haven't noticed, I'm not too big on the concept of _rules_."

He watched as Sharpay balanced on one foot as she attempted to pull her muddy black Uggs from her feet. Looking at them made Troy feel sorry that he hadn't realized something was wrong when Kelsi said she was "sleeping off her homesickness". God, he was an idiot. When she had finally pulled one boot from her foot she looked up at him from the other side of the room. "You seemed pretty big on the rules of initiation, actually."

Troy looked towards the open door of the dorm room and stood up from the bed, moving to close it. If they were going to talk about this out loud, it was better the others on the floor didn't hear- especially in case Lily was in her room just down the hall- next door if he remembered correctly. He turned and met Sharpay's confused eyes when he pushed the door closed quietly. "Those rules are… different."

Sharpay pulled the other boot from her foot. "How so?"

Troy sighed, wondering how he could phrase it. He knew all the rules, sure. Once you were accepted in Stuart, and not just given an invitation, but actually _accepted_- they told you the rules. They were rules of decorum, how to hold yourself around the school- in short, how to be better than everyone else. But one of the rules, the rules you were _not_ allowed to break, were to not speak of the rules to outsiders.

"Hale girls and Stuart boys are… we're not like other students. We're looked at differently, we're held to a higher standard." Sharpay looked at Troy, truly interested in his explanation. He took a few steps towards her, running his hand along the top of Gabriella's dresser. "Think of it like a sorority."

"Guess no one told Eastwood that hazing is illegal."

"It's not hazing. It's our way of sorting the born-to-bes from the wish-they-weres." Sharpay raised an eyebrow and Troy shrugged. "Okay fine, it's a little like hazing. But very much worth it."

Sharpay laughed and ran a hand through her messy hair as she turned to walk to her cherry wood dresser. Troy watched as she pulled open one the drawers and began searching through it. "So if last night's adventure wasn't my initiation-" She sneezed mid sentence, and Troy muttered a 'bless you', wishing she had let him take her to infirmary before whatever she had turned into the flu. "-that means I still have to, how did you put it, prove myself?"

"That it does. And let me wish you my luck now. Because when that day comes you aren't allowed any outside help. And the time limit doesn't make it any easier. Normally less than an hour and very much a pain in the ass."

"Did you have to do it?" Troy tried to ignore how nonchalantly she had tried to hide a bra behind her back as she turned to face him.

"Do you mind turning around?"

Troy nodded, turning to face Gabriella's dresser. "We all do." He began before picking up a silver picture frame. The picture it was displaying was of Gabriella, Tiara, Lily, and Angela- James Wiley's twin sister and Lily's number two. They all had their arms around each other and Tiara had her faced smushed against Gabriella showing off her immaculately white smile. Lily and Angela meanwhile were blowing kisses at the camera. Troy had been there when the picture was taken. It had been at the forest party Lily had organized for Tiara's birthday. The day she had decided that Tiara would be replacing her as junior Queen Bee. The last day of sophomore year. They first day they had had sex. The last day he had ever seen her. He blinked and put the frame down, washing the gloomy thoughts from his mind. He reminded himself that he wasn't going to think about her anymore- not like that anyway. "We're not really supposed to talk about it, though."

After a few seconds of silence passed he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw Sharpay fully redressed. She had thrown on a plain purple shirt that had a scoop neck, revealing her collarbone and some of those velour Juicy Couture sweatpants that Tiara used to sleep in. Troy almost found it endearing- no other Hale girl would be caught dead wearing sweatpants in the presence of a Stuart boy unless they were at the gym. He also couldn't help but realize how quick of a changer she was. How long had be staring at that picture, exactly?

"But if we're in the privacy of one of the houses, can't you tell me any secrets forbidden to outside ears."

"Technically your ears are still on the outside, New Girl." Sharpay pouted like a third-grader and rather than finding it juvenile, Troy found it adorable. "They might have the walls bugged. Lily's practically bionic"

Sharpay looked confused. "And Lily is..."

He raised an eyebrow. "President of Hale? Reminiscent of Megan Fox?" Sharpay shook her head, as if to say she had no idea who she was. Troy found this hard to believe. Lily was everywhere. "Your bathroom connects to her room. You'll see her eventually. She's very... influential at this school."

"Big man on campus afraid of the higher powers?"

Troy let out a short, almost sardonic laugh. "Give it a week, you will be too."

"I think I can handle myself. I'm living with Gabriella aren't I?"

"She's nothing compared to Lily." Sharpay bit her lip. Troy didn't want to scare her- but she was going to find out soon enough. She might as well be prepared for what Lily's tantalizing blue eyes were going to throw at her.

"Troy, I just spent a night alone. In a pitch-black forest. In the freezing rain. How much worse can it get?" Troy winced, feeling like the entire ordeal was his fault. Sharpay must have caught the movement because a small smile crept onto her face. "None of which is your fault. I wouldn't have suspected Kelsi to do something like what she did. I mean, Gabriella, sure. She's the one who looks like she wants to kill me every time I'm within five feet of her... I think she likes you."

Troy smirked. "Are you jealous?"

/

Sharpay felt heat creep up her neck and fill her cheeks with color. _Oh, crap_. "No… no, not at all. Why would I be? I mean I- I don't care. She can like you. It's not like you- you guys haven't-" She cut herself off, already hating herself for blubbering out that gibberish in the first place. She swallowed down the embarrassment in her throat and focused on the silver bracelet dangling from her wrist.

"Gabriella…" Troy started. Sharpay pressed her eyes closed. _Oh god, here it comes_. "She and I won't ever… We just wouldn't work out. No matter how bad I can tell she wants us to. I don't see her like that."

Sharpay opened her eyes and slowly lifted her head to find his two-toned eyes staring back at her. "Nice to know." She mumbled, trying to keep her giddy thoughts to herself. She turned around before Troy could see the goofy grin that had appeared on her face. She walked back over to her bed where she had tossed his sweatshirt in the midst of changing. She almost lifted it to her nose, just so she could inhale his scent one more time before losing it. "Did you want your-" She started, turning back to Troy with the sweatshirt in hand. Expecting to find him across the room, she was surprised when his five foot nine frame was right behind her, and those luring eyes of his were causing her to lose focus. "- sweatshirt?"

"You know what I've been thinking about?" He had a small smile on his lips as he spoke in a low tone, ignoring her question.

Sharpay couldn't form the words to speak when he was in this close proximity, his cologne invading her stuffed nostrils in a delightful manner. She settled for raising an eyebrow, hoping it conveyed the message she was going for. She suddenly found herself worried about how her breath smelt, and what her hair looked like- oh _god_ her hair. She must look like a wooly mammoth.

But maybe he liked that sort of thing.

Sharpay could have died right in that moment and be the happiest person in the world. Because right in that moment, everything froze. Troy lowered his perfect and flawless face towards her own and brushed his lips across hers in a feathery kiss. As her chest rose and fell she couldn't help but comment on the buzz she felt run all the way down to her toes.

/

Troy pulled back less than an inch, keeping his unsatisfied lips hovering above her own. He opened his eyes slowly, only to see that Sharpay's were still dreamily closed. The kiss felt different than kissing Tiara, or any other girl he had encountered in a round of spin the bottle. In that brief moment his lips had met hers, call him cheesy, he had felt a ping of electricity. And now his body wanted- needed- to feel more of it. The power was enticing. And now that he knew it was there, he was sure he wasn't going to be able to stop thinking about it. Sharpay's brown eyes fluttered open slowly and met his. He wondered if her shallow breathing meant that she had felt it, too. He lifted a hand and brushed a strand of wavy-from-being-out-in-the-rain-all-night blonde hair from her face and cupped her cheek. He couldn't help but feel the corner of his lip tugging upward into a smirk as he closed the distance in between them and pressed his mouth flush against hers.

He relished this feeling. It was like tasting ice cream for the first time. You realize it's the most delicious thing ever and you wonder how you had gone so long without ever have tasting. You'd tasted cake and pudding, sure. But ice cream… Ice cream was ten times better than that. Troy barely even recognized that he was mentally comparing kissing Sharpay to licking an ice cream cone. He was too wrapped up in the closeness of her body- the arm holding his sweatshirt pressing against his torso and the other lightly grabbing onto the cotton of his polo, as if her knees would buckle if she weren't holding onto something.

Who could blame her?

He kept his lips on hers as long as humanly possible without needing to pull back for air. And when he did draw back, he slowly pulled his hand back from her face and stood up straight, watching her brown eyes lazily blink themselves open. Her mouth was slightly parted, like she wanted to say something but couldn't operate her voice box. He grinned, as always, amused with the fact that he could have that type of effect on women. "Keep the sweatshirt. It looks better on you, anyway."

/

Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek, her body still humming from the earlier kiss. She was sitting on one of a row of beds in the infirmary, an electric thermometer under her tongue. She pushed her hands into the pockets of Troy's sweatshirt, realizing its grey color matched that of her Juicy pants. She looked up and saw Troy talking to the nurse- Nurse Adele- a few feet away. Every once in a while he would look over and make eye contact with her, a knowing grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. Sharpay wondered how a day that had started out so bad had done a completely 360. She had kissed Troy Bolton. Troy Bolton. Troy Bolton had kissed her.

Put _that_ under your Miu Miu's and stomp it, Bitch-riella.

Nurse Adele came over, Troy at her flank, and plucked the thermometer from her mouth just as it let out a monotone beep. "101. It could just be a passing cold, but with the winter temperature it could be the flu. Do you know if you had your shot this year?"

Sharpay shook her head. The flu was last thing on her mind in the New Mexican heat. Even in the winters she rarely got sick. "I don't think I have."

"Well, I'll have to keep you out of classes today, just in case it _is_ the influenza."

Sharpay looked around. She hated hospitals. And doctor offices. Hell, she even hated the dentist. The thought of spending all day in this place gave her the chills. She looked over to Troy, who was looking over at the doors to the infirmary that were being pushed open. A gust of November air blew into the room and she turned her head to see a tall boy in a dark red sweater enter the room. He used his hand to brush his dark brown hair across his forehead- it reminded Sharpay of a shorter version of Troy's haircut. He looked around the room as he took his first few steps, and the closer he got the more gorgeous he became. His cheekbones were that of a prince and his hazel eyes had a permanent lascivious tone about them. If Troy was Zac Efron, this guy was Brad Pitt. A little bit of Mr & Mrs Smith but mostly circa Fight Club.

The first rule of Eastwood is: Do not invite, get changed in front of, and make out with a hot guy in your dorm room. The second rule of Eastwood is: DO NOT invite, get changed in front of, and make out with a hot guy in your dorm room.

And as if her day could have gotten any better, Brad Pitt approached her bed and clapped a hand on Troy's shoulder. "How goes it, Bolton?" He said in a casual tone as Nurse Adele looked up at the two boys.

Troy, whose hands were folded across his muscular chest, shrugged with a grin on his lips. "Playing a round of Mother Theresa."

Brad Pitt smirked and Sharpay prayed to God that Troy was only referring to bringing her to infirmary.

"Can I help you, mister Wiley?" Nurse Adele said, her 40-year-old-crows-feet appearing as she smiled.

"My dear Nurse Adele," he began. Sharpay noticed that his voice was just as enticing as his eyes. "I'm afraid I'm in need of a pass."

The nurse looked the smooth operator up and down once before smiling sweetly. "Up all night with a sour stomach?"

The brunette smiled, revealing a row of straight pearly whites. "Afraid so."

With that, Nurse Adele shuffled down the open hall and into a door on the far side of the room. Sharpay looked up at Troy, suddenly feeling like an awkward outcast. She wondered how his friend had managed to wrangle a pass from the nurse, just as Troy had done himself yesterday. As if this 'mister Wiley' could read her thoughts, he caught her staring and raised an eyebrow, maintaining eye contact with her as he addressed Troy. "Fancy that. A new face." Sharpay would have blushed had she not been so enticed by the smoothness of his words. "Tell me Troy, is this the girl?"

Sharpay saw Troy nod out of the corner of her eye. "Sharpay Evans."

"Nice to finally meet you, Sharpay Evans."

_Finally_ meet her? Wait wait wait. Rewind.

"Sharpay, this is James Wiley. He's… the Lily of Stuart Hall."

James laughed at, what Sharpay guessed was, Troy's introduction. "She wears you better than you do, Bolton."

Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek, knowing he was referring to the sweatshirt she was wearing. "So I've been told."

/

Troy grinned, impressed at Sharpay's formation of syllables around James. Normally the first time a girl met him, all they got out was a few _uhs_ and _ums_. Gabriella had been like that. Kelsi had been like that. Tiara had even been caught stuttering. Sharpay was different. Good different. _Great_ different.

"You're the transfer. The one Angela's been on about."

Sharpay nodded slowly at his statement, as if she were confused. Troy didn't blame her. She probably had no idea who Angela Wiley was. No idea she was Lily Moore's number two. That her twin brother was the most coveted boy on campus. Troy tilted his head towards James, who was only about half an inch taller than he was himself. "Do you know when?" He mumbled under his breath, hoping Sharpay couldn't hear him. And as far as he could tell, she hadn't, because she just looked over at him and smiled. James nodded casually, removing his hand from Troy's shoulder.

"If Troy here ever does you wrong, just tell me. I'll give him a stern talking to." He said with a wink.

Sharpay's smile widened slightly, revealing the tiniest dimple. "You'll be the first person I tell, James."

/

Sharpay didn't know where this new confident self had come from, but she liked it. And James must have liked it to- or at the least, respected it- because he smirked, turned to Troy and said, "Good choice"

Now, once again, Sharpay had no idea what this coded statement meant. But she assumed it was a positive thing. Troy laughed and hit James's chest with the back of his hand. "Thanks."

She hadn't even noticed that Nurse Adele had returned with two slips of blue paper. "James, Troy. Enough dilly-dallying, back to class, please."

"Aye aye, ma'am." James gave her a mock salute, backing away from she, Troy, and Nurse Adele. "Pleasure to meet you, Sharpay."

Sharpay opened her mouth to say good-bye, but sneezed instead. So she settled for raising her hand into a wave.

/

"And Troy." Troy turned away from Sharpay to look at James, who was paused in the doorway to go outside and on with his day. "Tomorrow."

Troy gave a single nod to express his understanding. And with that, James gave Sharpay a parting smirk and disappeared behind the large oak doors. He turned to Sharpay. It was happening tomorrow. Sharpay's initiation. Whatever Lily was planning for Sharpay was already set up. There was no turning back for her now. The worst part was, whatever it was, whatever she had to do- he wouldn't be able to help her. And if he knew Lily, whom he would like to think he did, she would have concocted something special for Sharpay- she wouldn't let just _anyone_ into Hale mid-semester. She must suspect something hidden inside her. Something great. Something… Hale worthy.

"I'll come see how you're doing later."

Sharpay brought her eyes back to meet his. "You don't have to."

Troy grinned, leaning across the bed to place the lightest of kisses on her cheekbone.

/

Sharpay could feel Troy's warm breath on her skin when he brought his lips next to her ear, her body buzzing once again from the closeness.

"I want to."

Sharpay had no idea what James suggested was coming tomorrow. Or why Troy's jaw had clenched when he had mentioned it. But whatever it was, Sharpay would be ready for it. She had Troy, now. He'd protect her. Nothing bad was going to happen.

And maybe if she kept repeating that, she'd actually believe it.


	12. Return of the Bitch

"Did you think I wasn't going to find out? I'm the eyes and ears of this school, Nielsen."

Gabriella turned her head as James Wiley cleared his perfect throat. Lily rolled her sparkling dark blue eyes. "With James coming in a close second."

Gabriella didn't turn to look, but could tell that Kelsi had folded her hands across her chest. Not one to tolerate disobedience, Lily took a step closer to Kelsi in her black Christian Louboutin Mary Janes. "You took the oath. You know the rules. We don't need another scandal on our hands."

Standing in an empty corridor of the North Wing wasn't exactly the most private place to be speaking about the matter at hand, yet there they stood- Lily, James, and Angela- in all of their powerful perfection. Angela tucked her dark brown hair behind her ear, her blunt bangs highlighting her hazel eyes. Even after knowing the Wiley twins for two years, Gabriella couldn't get over how eerily similar they looked. It was even weirder when they stood side-by-side. They were just so… _pretty. _So much pretty in so little a space. It was intimidating. Her hazel eyes landed on Gabriella. "You sure you didn't have anything to do with this? You're being awfully quiet."

"No. I told you. Had I known I would have stopped it."

Partially true… But mostly a lie. Total, complete, absolute lie.

Angela's face showed she wasn't convinced. Gabriella tried to keep a straight face. _Oh crap, crap, crap._

James nudged his sister's arm with his elbow. "I can believe that. She may not like Sharpay, but she does like Troy. I don't think she'd hurt somebody he was becoming… _attached_ to."

Gabriella silently swallowed the hurt in her throat. Attached? He had talked to James about her? Had he asked for approval? _What_ had Eastwood come to?

"Unless she did it out of jealousy." She countered. "She obviously wants Bolton. And Sharpay's cute. If he's going after her, that means she's out of the running. Perfect motive."

Lily looked past James to her second in command best friend. "Relax. Gabriella didn't do anything. It was clearly Kelsi's fault and I'll deal with it."

James let out a breathy laugh. He lifted his arms over his head and stretched. "He's going after her alright."

Gabriella dug her fingernails into her palm. Those feelings of niceness she felt after seeing Sharpay emerge from the forest were completely gone. This was her Troy. He was Alpha Male. She was Queen Bee. They were cosmically and _socially_ meant to be together. The Troy Boltons of the world were just not meant to be with the Sharpay Evans. They were meant to be with the Tiaras and the Gabriellas- but mostly the Gabriellas.

"After she's accepted, I think they'd make quite the couple. She's much prettier than her old school picture let on. Lively. I like her."

James nodded. "I agree."

"_If_ she's accepted."

Lily's eyes darted to Gabriella. The phrase 'if looks could kill' ran through Gabriella's mind. "Gabriella, she's rooming with you whether you like it or not. Deal or move down into one of the singles on the second floor."

Gabriella bit her bottom to keep herself from saying anything else. She hated being talked down to. No one else in the school could make her cower like Lily did. Unable to think of anything to say to her superior, she let out a defeated sigh, tilting her head back."Don't be too hard on Kelsi."

Kelsi scoffed. "Gee, thanks."

Lily raised a dark eyebrow. "As part of your repentance… you can go invite Sharpay to sit at your table at lunch. Nothing productive can come from her sitting with that group of girls."

"She's in the infirmary, Lil."

"I _know_ that, James. She'll go pay her a visit. And you know Troy will be with her at lunch. And Nurse Adele is mentally incapable of saying no to a Stuart."

"It's a gift."

Gabriella turned her head sharply, already knowing whose voice the words had come from. She loved that voice. That sweet melodious voice. She watched as Troy Bolton's barely blue-green and blue-grey eyes scanned the crowd in front of him. When they met her brown ones, he raised an eyebrow, taking a few steps to close the distance that separate him from his friends. "Sorry I'm late. I seem to have misplaced my invitation to the secret rendezvous."

Lily ran her always-perfectly manicured fingers through her hair, an innocent smile on her face. "Your timing is impeccable, Bolton."

"Flattery will get you _everywhere_, Moore." Troy returned the smile before pushing his hands into the front pockets of his almost-skinny jeans. "Now, who will I be with at lunch?"

"Our newest recruit."

/

"What are we doing, jail breaking her from the infirmary? You know, it wouldn't be necessary had your girl not put her through Survivor: Connecticut last night." Troy looked at Kelsi as he said this, who stared defiantly forward, refusing to make eye contact.

"_Down_, Bolton. It's being handled. And I merely request you spring her free for lunch. I'd like to get a bit acquainted before-" Lily stopped herself short, looking left, right, and past Troy's shoulder to ensure no one was within listening distance. "Well, you know." Troy nodded. Oh, he knew. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about it since the topic had been brought up. The worried feeling in the pit of his stomach was tormenting. The corner of her lip curved up, showing that she knew he was thinking about Sharpay. That he was nervous for her. "I hope you don't need to be reeducated on the rulebook, Troy."

"Not necessary." James grinned proudly. "We Stuarts prize ourselves on our ability to remain loyal to the rules. We, unlike our female counterparts, have remained unswerving."

Angela, ever the Hale-defender, smacked her brother in the bicep, causing him to let lose his folded arms. "Not true. Joseph Hollows. Class of nineteen eighty… something or other."

_1986_, Troy corrected the female twin mentally. Prior to being accepted into Stuart Hall, he and the others in class had been tested on past Stuart members. He had almost every one of them down back to '71. How Angela knew about Joseph Hollows, though, was beyond him. The Hale girls probably had to memorize the semi-useless information, too.

"Doesn't count. The fire was accidental."

"But he was with his _unapproved_ girlfriend when it happened. Had he followed the rules the candles would never have been lit, which would have meant no fire in the first place."

"Fine. One flaw. Whatever. At least a Stuart has never been caught mid-initiation."

Troy felt Gabriella shift on her heels next to him. He turned his head slightly to look at her, and then back at Lily, whose blue eyes went straight to Angela. "You _told your brother_? What the hell, Ang, I know he's a Stuart but-"

"Relax! I'm sorry. It slipped out." Angela cut Lily off, looking from her to her brother. "Besides… It's not like he'll tell anyone."

"Well, what else have you shared with him? Did you tell him about the second part of the situation? So help me god, Angela, if you-"

"No! God, no."

"What second part?" James said, hazel eyes wide and curious.

"Nothing." Lily responded shortly, effectively ending the conversation. James's head was slowly darting back and forth between his sister and Lily, enough to make Troy dizzy as he stood there just as confused as he was. He narrowed his eyes slightly, honing in on Lily. "You know I'll find out. All I have to do is touch Brooke and she'll tell me whatever I need to know."

"Brooke knows better."

Gabriella turned and looked up at Troy. Troy wanted to ask her if she understood what the 'second part' was. Hell, he wanted to know who the _first _part was in reference to. People like them just didn't get caught. It never happened. Precautions were taken specifically to make sure that it didn't.

"Bolton, should you be some place right now?"

He looked away from Gabriella to Lily. "Should _you_?"

"I'll take that as a yes." Toy smirked. "Well the bell is going to ring in, what- three minutes?" Lily asked, looking down at the thin silver watch hidden beneath multiple other bracelets around her wrist. "You can walk Kelsi to visit Sharpay. She'll need your face to get Nurse Adele to release such a precious patient."

Troy looked over at Kelsi, who had silently taken out her phone in the midst of all the conversation. He couldn't help but notice her less-than-excited expression. Her auburn head rose, turning to him. "Let's get this over with."

/

"-one of us."

"Oh, will everyone shut up with that?"

Sharpay opened her eyes as she heard new voices enter the room. She sat up in the uncomfortable bed she had unsuccessfully tried to sleep on and looked towards the doorway, stuffing her hands into the pockets of Troy's sweatshirt. Troy walked into the room first, hanging an arm behind to hold the door open for Kelsi, who strode through with her arms crossed, phone gripped tightly in her hand. "I'll repeat it until it's proven false, _Bolton_."

Sharpay itched to hear Kelsi and Troy's whisper-screams, trying to casually lean towards them without looking like an eavesdropper.

"That'll be tomorrow, _Nielsen_."

Tomorrow? Why did everyone keep mentioning tomorrow? What was she missing? Sharpay blinked and sat up straight as Troy made eye contact for the first time. There was a cloudy annoyance in his eyes but a knowing smile on his lips. She heard the bell signifying the end of third period ring behind the closed doors as the two approached her bed. Lunch. She was supposed to meet Emma, Jackie, and Lea. Nurse Adele probably wasn't going to let her out of the building, though. She'd come over every hour, on the hour, to recheck her temperature. Still at a solid 101. Like magic, she felt a hand press into her shoulder. "How's that fever coming along, dear?"

"I ink it's uhd." Sharpay mumbled as she stuck the electric thermometer back under her tongue.

"How's our girl doing, Adele?"

Sharpay coughed, almost choking on the piece of plastic. Did those words just come from Kelsi's mouth or was the fever causing her to hallucinate? The nurse looked down at Sharpay and then back up at Kelsi, whose black turtleneck sweater was making her eyes a deeper shade of green.

"I think she sounds great." Troy added, nodding to the graying woman standing at the edge of Sharpay's bed.

"I agree, Troy. In fact-" Kelsi put a gentle hand on Troy's bicep, smiling at the nurse. Sharpay looked up at Troy, raising an eyebrow in hopes to get a hint of what this horrible acting was about. He just winked his greyish eye. And her heart did a little back flip. "I think we should bring her to lunch to celebrate the speedy recovery."

Sharpay tried not to smile. Forget Emma and her gruesome twosome posse. She was eating lunch with her cooler, more popular roommates and their hot guy friends!

Not that she was over eager or anything.

"Darling, she could be contagious-"

"Nurse Adele. Have you gotten botox?"

Sharpay watched the nurse as she registered what the handsome student in front of her had just asked. She raised a careful hand to her forehead, and then to her cheek. Did people actually fall for lines like that? "I can't say I have."

"Oh, really?" Troy's face twisted in faux confusion. "I just thought… You're looking younger than usual."

Nurse Adele blushed slightly. "Well, I have been using a new night cream."

Obviously they did.

Troy nodded. "It's working wonders."

"Well thank you, mister Bolton…" She paused for a moment, and Sharpay thought for a moment that the plan had fallen through. She looked up at Kelsi, who must have felt her gaze, because she turned to her. She shook her auburn head as if to say, 'relax, New Girl'. The thermometer beeped in Sharpay's mouth and Kelsi plucked it from her lips before Nurse Adele even had a chance to react.

"You're a miracle worker. A perfect 100. Down one degree from this morning, so I hear."

"Yes, well. It's just the medicine working." The nurse replied, taking the thermometer from Kelsi's hand.

"Nurse Adele, please. Don't undermine your talents."

"If you let her come with us," Troy cut in, silencing Kelsi's compliments. "I give you my word that I'll have her back before the bell to fourth period even rings."

Nurse Adele puckered her lips, looking back and forth between the three juniors in front of her. She took in a breath and let it out slowly. "Fine. But just this once."

/

"Glad to see she dressed up for the occasion."

"She just came from the infirmary, Gabriella, give her some slack."

Gabriella turned and looked back at Martha, who was settling down into the blue plastic chair. Two empty chairs separated the two of them. One of them was for Troy, his usual seat since the loss of a certain blonde. This was the chair at her right. The other, in between he and Martha, is where Sharpay would sit. Sit and pretend she belonged here. Even though she didn't, and she never would. Gabriella reminded herself of the upside- at least Troy was closest to her. If she were next to Sharpay and her grey velour track pants, she'd probably throw a fit.

Or her salad. Whichever was easier.

"Sharpay!" Martha called, standing up in her chair and beckoning Sharpay forward with her hand. Gabriella grabbed her bottle of water and twisted the cap open. _She's with Troy and Kelsi, Martha, she knows how to get here_.

"Hi." Was the brilliance that came from her blonde roommate's mouth as she approached the table. Gabriella guessed that it was directed at either Ryan or Martha, but she didn't bother to look up and check. She did, however, look up when Troy moved into her peripheral vision. Too bad what she saw was Troy's perfect hand on her stupid lower back ushering her into the stupid seat next to stupid Martha. Gabriella unintentionally squeezed the plastic bottle tighter, causing some water to bubble over the edge and drop onto her salad. She grimaced and pushed it away. After seeing Troy's hand on the tan wanna-be, she'd all but lost her appetite. Just when she thought no one had seen, she looked up across the table where Jason was smirking at her. She mouthed the words _I hate you_ and he shook his head, taking a bite out of a mozzarella stick.

She felt Kelsi settle into her seat across from Troy, next to Ryan. He was leaned forward towards Sharpay, asking how she was doing. Normally he would have greeted his girlfriend with a kiss, but Gabriella figured he was still pissed about what his girlfriend had done to his new friend earlier. But Kelsi mustn't have noticed the change, or cared, because she simply crossed her dark jean-clad legs and pulled her phone from her purse. One of these days Gabriella was going to figure out who she was in contact with 24/7. She didn't believe the Paulo-from-Milan-time-zone story.

" -and Nurse Adele said I'd probably be out of there tomorrow morning." Was what Sharpay was saying when Gabriella's ears tuned back into their conversation.

"Well, that's good news."

Gabriella brushed a wavy strand of hair behind her ear as she turned to the owner of the voice.

/

Sharpay almost jumped at the voice that came from behind her. No one else seemed affected by the female's intrusion on the conversation, however. Martha and Troy both just turned their heads to look at the striking girl in the chair directly behind Troy's. Her shiny black hair was parted dramatically in the middle, framing her blemish-free heart shaped face. This girl redefined the word gorgeous. She was Megan Fox meets Charlie's Angel meets Victoria's Secret model. Sharpay felt inferior in her current state of dress. Luckily, she herself was one of the people who could go without wearing make-up and not look like a total hag. She had taken off Troy's sweatshirt and folded it on her lap, letting her plain purple American Apparel scoop-neck show. She just wished her hair wasn't up in a messy ponytail and she didn't smell like rainwater and pine trees.

"I'm Lily." The girl said, holding out a manicured hand.

Sharpay eyes went slightly wider. Now she _really_ wished she looked better. Lily let out a short airy laugh. "I take it you've heard of me."

Here she was. Back to the bumbling-idiot phase. _Pull it together, Sharpay. This is _Lily._ Hold strong._ "Sharpay."

"I know." Sharpay's hand was met with a single, firm, presidential handshake. "I was planning on introducing myself yesterday after dinner, but as it would seem, you didn't make it home last night."

Sharpay noticed Troy's jaw clench as Lily said this. She turned to find him looking back at Kelsi. When his head turned back, he caught her eyes, giving an apologetic smile as if the whole thing were his fault. She smiled back and turned back to Lily, who was now looking at Kelsi as well. After a moment her dark blue eyes turned to Sharpay. "I'm sorry about that, by the way. As I'm sure Kelsi is. Normally I have my girls under better control."

Sharpay smiled. _My girls_. How maternal.

In a creepy… big-brother's-watching-you kind of way.

Sharpay shook her head. "That's alright. I survived."

"So you did." Lily responded, smiling like there was a double meaning to her response. Sharpay and her naïve mind, however, couldn't process it.

/

"What, is Blondie Lily's new best friend?" Gabriella whispered-hissed, her head inclined to Kelsi while her eyes went from Sharpay to Lily to Troy and back.

"Someone feeling a bit possessive today?" Kelsi whispered back, smirking as she scrolled through something on her phone. Gabriella made a face as her friend put her phone down and stood up from her chair. "God, I'm kidding. Come to the lunch line with me. Before Lily overhears."

Gabriella leaned her hip against the lunch tray railing, looking back at the two conversing lunch tables. Kelsi was taking her dear, sweet time deciding between making herself a salad or taking a pre-portioned plate of mozzarella sticks. "It's not like she's going to take your place, G." She said, picking up a bowl and reaching for the salad tongs.

"How can you be so sure?" Gabriella whined, turning her attention back to Kelsi. She hated letting her guard down. But she was too annoyed by the invasion of the New Mexican to care. "If she starts dating Troy then I don't know what I'll do with myself. Next thing you know I'll be moving into Gregory Hall single… hoping one of the Berkeley Hall boys will fall for me and my H&M button down."

"I'm getting a rash just thinking about it." Kelsi made a face, throwing a few cherry tomatoes on top of her lettuce. "Don't worry. She won't start dating Troy."

"Really? They look pretty smitten right now." Gabriella narrowed her Benefit lined eyes at Sharpay as she laughed along with Troy and Lily at something Angela had said. Angela liked her now, too? This girl was infectious. The seniors better watch out. James might be her next victim.

"Did you just say _smitten_?" Gabriella rolled her eyes and Kelsi snickered to herself, topping her salad with a mini cup of fat-free vinaigrette. "Listen. If she messes something up tomorrow, she'll have to move out of Hale. And she'll be deemed off-limits to Troy. But by the looks of it, Lily will probably give her something easy-"

"Well then we'll just have to make sure that something deters her from her… _admittance_." Gabriella fought back the devilish grin that was fighting to come out. Kelsi's reign of terror was over.

The bitch was back.


	13. The Gold Files

_Creeeeaaak._

Sharpay sprang up in the uncomfortable spring mattress situated against the wall of the infirmary. Her wide-awake eyes went straight to the large oak doors- the ones that were still closed. She sighed to herself and scanned the rest of the room. She'd been hearing eerie noises for the past twenty minutes. She had convinced herself multiple times that it was probably just the wind blowing against one of the windows or Nurse Adele shuffling around in her small apartment upstairs, but she couldn't help but jump every time she heard something. She didn't like being the only one in the wide-open room. Didn't anyone at this school get sick? She looked down at her phone again. 11:53. The night was going by so slowly. She'd texted Jimmie, but he hadn't responded, so she'd been alone since after Martha dropped her off some dinner. But that had been _forever_ ago, and she hadn't seen anyone but Nurse Adele since.

_Creak._

Sharpay turned her head back towards the door that led up to the nurse's apartment. She rubbed at her eye, any trace of sleep that had been there was now fully gone. Nurse Adele had probably gotten up to go to the bathroom… but for twenty minutes? Unlikely. Maybe she was sleep walking. Yeah. Yeah, that had to be it. Maybe she should go check on her? That'd be the neighborly thing to do, right? Sharpay pushed the blanket off her legs and slid off the bed, the cold ground penetrating through her thin socks.

She slowly padded over towards the small door in the back corner of the room, every once in a while turning to check behind her. The journey across the room felt like it was taking forever. And just as she reached out for the small brass doorknob, a pair of cold hands sheltered her eyes from behind. And being any normal human being, her hands shot up in protest, trying to free her vision. Another pair of hands slapped her hands back down. Sharpay tried to slap back, but only managed to swat the air. "Who the-"

One of, what Sharpay imagined was, the slapping hands covered her mouth. "Shhhh." Somebody whispered harshly. A girl, she determined. "Chill out."

Sharpay scoffed. You try to chill out when you're being kidnapped in the middle of the night. _Then_ come talk to me. As she was ushered around, eyes still covered, she heard the voice again. "Find her shoes."

As her foot was being shoved into her Ugg, she heard a new voice. "Playing maid was _not_ in the job description." Sharpay swallowed the nerves in her throat. That voice. That eerily smooth voice that revealed some hint of an unplaceable accent.

Kelsi.

But she couldn't be sure. Maybe it was someone else. Maybe another kidnapper had a similar voice. Hey, it was possible. Her other boot was shoved on and a hand grabbed her arm and walked her forward. Sharpay felt a cold breeze hit her and she imagined the large oak door to the infirmary being pushed open. Lack of Troy's sweatshirt made her shiver. "Hey, do you think I could at least- _OW_." The grip on her arm tightened, and a few fingernails were pressed into her skin, deterring her question and silencing her.

Nope, definitely Kelsi.

Oh god. The other girl was probably Gabriella. They were going to tie her up in the woods and cover her with honey. A bear was going to come and eat her. This was it. This was how she was going to die. Goodbye mom. Goodbye Jimmie. Goodbye _Troy_. It was nice knowing you.

And… Cue dramatic music.

Sharpay didn't know whom Kelsi was with, where they were taking her, or why. All she knew for sure was one thing:

She was really getting sick of this shit.

/

_Creak_.

Troy looked away from the small white 16" TV situated in the corner of his and Jason's room, on top of his desk next to his MacBook Pro. He paused his muted game of Call of Duty and set the xBox controller down on the floor next to the game-rocker chair. He looked over at Jason's bed, where his friend had been laying like a dead person for the past hour and half. Troy, however, couldn't sleep. He kept wondering if Sharpay was sleeping. If she was all right. He had had to spend half a week in the infirmary freshman year because of strep throat. That place was creepy at night. It was one of the older buildings and made noises you only hear in scary movies. And people were rarely in there over night, so the loneliness didn't help a person get comfortable enough to fall asleep.

_Creak._

Stuart Hall was a _slightly_ newer building though, and it only really made noises when people were on the stairs or opening and closing their doors. Either way, someone on his floor was on the move. And he was too curious and awake not to investigate. Troy grabbed his middle school St. John's Bobcats basketball sweatshirt- which only still fit him because his mom had ordered it ten times too big for her ten-year-old son- and pulled it over his head, covering his long-sleeved thermal shirt. He maneuvered himself to the door and opened it slowly, trying to avoid a creaking sound. He closed the door behind him and scanned the hallway. There were five rooms on the third floor. Troy's side of the building had three rooms: his and Jason's, Ryan's, and a senior named Aaron who used to date James' sister. On the other side of the hallway were the remaining two rooms. The one directly across from his and Jason's was occupied by a senior named Alex Clark. And the one towards the end of the hallways belonged to James and his best friend/ right hand man Vince Gati.

Troy turned towards James and Vince's room, where the door was just being reopened. James appeared in a black sweatshirt and dark blue, plaid sleep pants. He didn't look up and notice Troy until he was about three steps in front of him. "It's late, man, go to bed."

There was only one reason he would be dressed like he was. And Troy didn't realize it until James was a few steps past him. He grabbed the Stuart president by the bicep, forcing him to break his stride and rebound back to face him. "You told me it was happening _tomorrow_."

"It's 12:04." James looked down at Troy's hold on his arm and then back up for eye contact. Troy got the message, retracting his hand. James pulled his RIM Blackberry 880 from the pocket of his pullover and Troy watched as his hazel eyes ran across the screen a few times before sliding the phone back into his sweatshirt. "Kelsi and Taylor have her. I'm on guard at the Dean's office. You can help if it'll give you some peace of mind."

"Why wasn't I told earlier?"

"Lily didn't want your affections interfering. Are you coming or not? I need to organize the others."

Troy nodded. He tried not to be offended that others were involved before he was. Instead he focused on the peace-of-mind aspect. It was exactly what he needed. But watching Sharpay do something at the Dean's office that could get her expelled was not going to give it to him. But if something went wrong, at least he could warn James, and he could stop it. "Let me get my shoes."

/

Sharpay blinked as her eyes adjusted to the dim light. When they came into focus, she saw Lily standing in front of her. Angela was at her right, and a girl named Brooke she had met at lunch stood on her left. The three of them wore white sweaters that glowed against the light of the flickering candles placed strategically around a Hale dorm room she had never seen before. She turned and saw Kelsi and the quiet girl from lunch backing to the side of the room, both wearing black, as everyone else in the room was. Taylor, was it? She couldn't remember. But she must have been the one covering her eyes from the infirmary.

"Sharpay Evans." Sharpay turned and looked back at Lily, her black hair a contrast against her light sweater. "You have been chosen by the sisters of Hale to join a century long bond. Upon knowledge of your enrollment, you were observed- your grades, your friends, your lifestyle. And after careful consideration, Hale sisters, past and present, have decided you have brewing potential to join the legacy."

When Sharpay realized she hadn't blinked since she had looked at Lily, she let her eyes move from Angela, to Brooke, and then back, taking a deep breath. This was crazy. Hale was no longer just a dorm. Now it was a legacy? A _sisterhood_, even. She'd been followed. Watched. For weeks- and she hadn't even known. She was embarrassed. What exactly did they know about her? Did they know she'd been busting her ass to become popular at her old school? Did they know she went for fast food and a drive-thru movie every Thursday night with Jimmie? Despite the nervousness she was feeling, there was a surge of anticipation flooding through her, because she had an itch that the next words coming from Lily's mouth were not going to be 'welcome to the club!'

"I take it you remember where the admissions building is, correct? Where Dean Lucas's office is?" Sharpay nodded, too nervous to formulate an actual response. Lily smirked. "Think back to when you were upstairs in the office. Did you notice any other doors besides the one leading to Dean Lucas?"

To be truthful, all Sharpay had been thinking about in his office was the way Troy had looked at her. She didn't even remember the secretary's name, let alone did she recall seeing a strange door. Nonetheless Sharpay thought back to yesterday morning. She didn't remember anything, but she nodded anyway.

"Well I need you to enter one of those rooms. The room in particular I need contains written files on all of the students at Eastwood back to 1892 when the school opened- applications, transcripts, yada yada. Basically useless since they now have everything on computers, but whatever." Sharpay blinked, watching Lily's hands move with expression as she spoke. "Your task, Sharpay, should you accept it, is to retrieve a file for me. Failure to complete said assignment will result in your dorm reassignment. Do you follow?"

"I think so."

"Good, now-"

"One question, though." Lily raised a sculpted eyebrow. "How do I get in? I mean, aren't the doors going to be locked?"

Sharpay could have sworn she heard Gabriella snicker from her corner of the room. Lily shot her a look without turning her head and then looked back to Sharpay. "Our dorm advisor Kathi has a key chain in her apartment. Failing retrieving that, you could always climb through a window or something. But know this. You will not be given any help. And you are not to speak to anyone you happen to come across on the way. If you do, I will know, and it's an automatic out."

Sharpay swallowed the lump in her throat. Lily made it seem like she could have her whacked if she wanted. And she probably could, just by using those blue eyes of hers as daggers. She made a mental note to never get on her bad side. This girl was the godfather of boarding schools… god_mother_...

Whatever.

"You have thirty-five minutes to get the key, get the file, and get it back to me. Don't stop to smell the manicured lawns either- the faster you do it, the easier it'll be for you." Lily paused, taking a breath. She let it slowly and looked down at the watch on her arm. "Go."

Sharpay didn't waste any time rushing out of the room. After pulling the door shut behind her, she started towards the staircase, but then stopped. Grey and purple weren't exactly stealth colors. She doubled back, hurrying past Lily's room and into her own. She ran across the room, opening a dresser drawer and pulling out a pair of black denim leggings. After rifling through the rest of her dresser and wasting two precious minutes, she stuffed her feet into her fig colored argyle knit Uggs and ran back out the door, pushing her cell phone into the pocket of her We The Free Jacket and hustled back down the hallway. Making it down the two flights of stairs in record time, she slowed her pace, quietly making her way down to Kathi, the Hale dorm advisor's, apartment.

Unsure of whether or not the door would be unlocked, Sharpay put her hand on the doorknob hesitantly, and turned. It opened no problem. She let out a thankful sigh and tiptoed into the open living-room type area. Realizing it was practically pitch black in the room, she pulled out her iPhone and scrolled through the screen to find the free flashlight app she had downloaded during one of her App Store binges. She'd never used it before, but figured one day it might come in handy. Which proved correct, as of today. From two steps into the room, Sharpay could see most of the small apartment- the kitchen, a closed door she assumed led to the bathroom, and a door cracked open enough to see the end of a bed frame. Her brown eyes scanned the room. _If I were a dorm advisor… where would I keep the keys to the school…_

Sharpay padded over to the small coffee table situated next to a large made-for-one-person-but-could-easily-fit-two couch. Nothing. She looked around, and her eyes landed on the open bedroom door. Light snoring could be heard from inside, and Sharpay prayed that it meant she was in a deep, un-awakable sleep. She was starting to walk towards the kitchen when something silver flashed in her peripheral vision. She turned her phone towards the wall, where a small ring of keys was hanging from a miniature silver hook. She lifted the keys, looking over to the bedroom when they made a slight jingle in her hand. When she realized she was in the clear, she hurried back out of the room, pulling the door closed behind her. She was about to open the main door to run over to get the file when a thought popped into her head: what file was she supposed to get? Wouldn't it be helpful to know?

Duh.

Sharpay was practically out of breath as she climbed the stairs. When she opened the door to Lily's dorm, everyone turned to her. Lily turned away from Angela and some other girl she was talking to, looked at Sharpay, at her watch, and then back at Sharpay.

From the flickering candlelight she could see Angela's dark brows furrowed in confusion. "What are you, The Flash?"

Lily smacked her arm with the back of her palm, an amused expression on her face. "Problem?"

"The file…" Sharpay started, Lily blinked. "Whose am I supposed to get?"

The corner of Lily's mouth lifted, like she was about to say the punch line of a joke. "Gold. Tiara Gold."

/

Troy kicked the brick wall on the side of the main office. He'd been out here, what, ten minutes? God, this job was boring. At least you could shoot people playing Modern Warfare. He looked down at his phone, opening the text message as it vibrated his Blackberry Storm. _See her from the window. DON'T let her see you._

Troy exited out of James's text and made his way towards the front of the building. He stopped a few inches from the corner of the bricks, staying far enough in the shade as to not let the light of the old lampposts catch his shadow. He kept his torso close to the wall, angling his head so that his left eye could see around to the front of the building. And there she was, slowly making her way out of the shadowed area between buildings. She scanned the open space she would have to go through to make it up the old cement staircase that led up to the doors of the admissions building. Was this what he was supposed to do as lookout? He felt like he should be doing something more. He wondered what James was doing upstairs. Inside. In the warmth.

He looked out towards the open campus, scanning past the strategically placed trees placed in the large quad. He could just barely see the small light that came from the night guard's station down by the gate to the school. The middle aged security guard, Max, was probably sitting there watching reruns of The Simpsons and praying that something interesting was going to happen.

What a life.

_MY MILKSHAKE BRINGS ALL THE BOYS TO THE YARD_

Troy's eyes snapped back to Sharpay, who was standing with a key in the front door, scrambling to reach into her pocket. She didn't turn off her phone? Didn't even put it on silent? Or vibrate? Troy rolled his eyes, looking back to the scarcely lit quad nervously. "Hey, listen, I can't talk right now…" Troy heard her whisper just loud enough for him to hear, his own phone vibrating in his hand. This time it was the senior named Alex_. If that was your ringtone, so help me God._

_Hysterical._ He texted back quickly, not bothering to ask how he heard the ring tone or where he was hidden in the night. Instead he looked back at Sharpay, who was trying to find the right key to open the door. "Because I'm…" Oh, no way in _hell_ was she about to tell someone what she was doing. "..uh, sleeping." Her shoulders slumped as she picked out another key and it proved useless. "Yes, sleeping. It's midnight over here, Jimmie." Troy felt his jaw lock instinctively. Part of him wanted to round the corner and tell her to get off the phone.

For initiation purposes only, of course.

"Yeah yeah, I'll call you tomorrow…" _Hang up, hang up._ "I will…" _Haaaaaaang uuuuuup._ "I miss you, too…" _Just press end._ "I promise…" Troy leaned his cheek against the cold brick._ Jesus Christ._ "I really have to go…" _Yeah Jimmie, let her go_. Sharpay finally found the right key, and a giant smile of relief spread across her face. It was the kind of smile that made other people smile just by looking at it. Troy was no exception. He was glad it was dark and no one was around to see the stupid grin on his lips right then."Kay bye."

/

Sharpay pushed the heavy door closed behind her and turned her phone back to the flashlight app, putting the volume all the way down. Jimmie had picked the _perfect_ time to call her. Not that she minded it being so late. She was still at 10 o'clock Albuquerque time, anyway. It was more the whole I'm-supposed-to-be-jacking-student-files-from-the-dean's-office thing that was the problem. But she'd talk to him tomorrow. And you know who else she would talk to tomorrow? Troy. Because she'd been in Hale. And he'd be in Stuart. And she could walk across the campus with him and actually feel worthy of being in his vicinity. If that were even possible. The only person better looking than him was James… and Chace Crawford. And possibly Robert Pattinson- but the accent was what gave him a definitive advantage. Sharpay imagined Troy talking with an accent and she grinned to herself, clutching Kathi's stolen keys in her closed fist.

Ello gov'na.

Sharpay stood in the wide-open room. In front of her was a large open room filled with a few couches and coffee tables covered decoratively with generic magazines and Eastwood pamphlets. Sharpay guessed this served as a waiting room. On the wall were presidential-like portraits of the past deans. Sharpay's eyes landed on the oldest looking portrait above the lone secretary desk against the left wall. Was that the founder of Eastwood? This grey haired crow-like old man? It was one of those pictures that seemed to follow you wherever you went. Even as Sharpay walked towards the staircase on the left side of the room, his dark eyes stared her down. "You have a lovely school, sir."

Sharpay quietly hopped up the stairs, trying to ignore the fact that she just spoke to a painting. At the top of the staircase she looked at a large oil canvas painting of trees and the gate at the front of the school. The gold seemed bright against the different shades of green. She turned her phone light back to the rest of the room where she saw a second secretary desk in front of a giant window letting in some light from the lamps outside. What if someone looked through the window and saw the flashlight? Sharpay looked down at the time- she had a good twenty-five minutes left - and then bit her lip and stuffed her phone into her jacket, paranoid.

Better safe than suspended.

The dim light let in just enough light for Sharpay to see three doors against the two other walls. One she recognized as the Dean's office, across the room. She walked past the one closest to her, which had a small bronze plate on it. She struggled to read the words written on it. Conference room. Not exactly what she wanted. Which left the third door to be the room with the student files. Sharpay hurried over to the door and reached for the knob. She made a frustrated noise and lifted the keys into the air. Of _course_ they locked the file room. It was logical. But in the present Sharpay didn't want logical. She wanted Tiara Gold's file. There were exactly twenty-two keys on the key chain. Why the hell did she, let alone _anyone _need twenty-two keys? She unsuccessfully jabbed the first key into the keyhole. She was on key number three when it hit her: she was going to have Tiara Gold's file in her hands. The mysterious Tiara. The girl who had disappeared. The girl everyone kept mentioning. But most importantly- _Troy's_ girl.

Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek. Or his _ex_-girl. She didn't remember what it was he had said about her at the lake. Should she read it? No... Lily said she would know... But... Would it say why she hadn't come back this year? Did she die? What did she look like? Would it show what she looked like? Oh god, she was nosey.

After wasting at least two minutes trying all the keys she gave up. It was hopeless. Unless… She ran over to the secretary's desk, not even caring if someone could see her through the window. She pulled open the smaller first drawer, praising God that it wasn't locked, and nearly jumped for joy when she saw a key chain- only containing three keys. Suddenly things were going her way. She tried the first key- wrong- and the second- wrong again- before the third key opened the door before her. Sharpay dragged her hand along the wall, bumping into something cold before finding the light switch.

It was like a warehouse of file cabinets. Lining the walls of the room were tall grey metal boxes nearly touching the ceiling. Sharpay looked at the closest one, reading the small white tab: Class of 1904. The one directly next to it said 1910. God, how old was this school? There must be thousands of files in this room. Sharpay turned and went to the other side, figuring it'd be faster. After a few rows of empty cabinets she saw Class of 2008. Bingo. She stepped back and looked up. Tiara was… would have been… a junior this year. Which meant she needed Class of 2011. Figures it'd be at the top of the bunch. It was just making it harder for Sharpay's nearly five-foot-four self to complete her initiation. She looked around for something to stand on. The only thing she saw was one of those stools you always see at the library, which probably wouldn't be too much help, but she grabbed it anyway, jumping atop it and pulling open the file cabinet. Standing on the tippiest of toes, she could just see the neatly printed names on the tabs of the manila folders. Her eyes seemed to be drawn to a few names in particular: Bolton, Troy; Cross, Jason; Evans, Sharpay; Everett, Ryan; Gold, Tiara. Eureka.

Sharpay didn't waste any time being starstruck. She lifted the folder out of the cabinet and pushed the metal door closed, hopping off the stool and walking towards the door. She pulled the door shut and locked it, returning the key to the desk drawer. It wasn't until she was walking down the stairs that she looked down at the file in her hand. It had a white sticker on it: Gold, Tiara Temperley. Temperley? Was that her middle name? As if the name Tiara wasn't interesting enough by itself. It was like a stage name. Below it read Hale 305. Under _that_ it read 6th generation. Whatever the hell that meant. But it was the picture next to the white sticker that caught her attention. It was a school picture. A _gorgeous_ school picture. If Sharpay hadn't known better, she would have guessed it was airbrushed and photo shopped. Picture Megan Fox, Marisa Miller, and Alessandra Ambrosio put together. Tiara was _prettier_.

Sharpay pulled her phone back out, unlocking it to use the flashlight for a better look. Tiara's hair was long and thick. It was wavy- and not in the I-used-a-curling-iron kind of way. It was in the I-can-wake-up-and-have-sexy-beachy-waves-everyday-suckers way- and the dirty blonde, naturally highlighted waves seemed to frame her face in _just _the perfect way. Her lips were full and her cheeks were rosy. And then the icing on top: her eyes. They were lined in dark purple eyeliner that just made them even more stunning. The irises themselves were light grey, but you could see visible specks of color in them. There were flecks of blue, green, even purple and- what was that, yellow? They were like two little rainbow whirlpools. Sharpay stared closer, trying to see some sort of hint at a special effect. But it was to no avail. This girl was perfect. There was no way anyone could ever get over a girl this beautiful. Troy could pretend all he wanted, but Sharpay would know the truth. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she locked the main door behind her, glad that she found out what she was competing against before she became anymore enthralled with Troy's dual-colored eyes. But it didn't help when her mind started playing tricks on her. Because when she was skulking down the steps of the admissions office, she could have sworn she saw Troy near the side of the building.

Sharpay was feeling overly confident of her accomplishments as she climbed up to the third floor of Hale. She had gotten back to the dorm and replaced Kathi's keys with around fifteen minutes to spare. How she did it, she had no idea, especially after the key fiasco. She took a deep breath to steady her breathing as she re-entered ily's bedroom. Her brown eyes met Gabriella's first, who had her lips puckered in an annoyed fashion. Sharpay wanted to stick her tongue out at her and do a victory dance.

Maybe later.

Then she met Martha's, who smiled before covering a yawn. Sharpay would have been tired, too, if she weren't pumped up on adrenaline. She walked towards Lily, whose face she couldn't read. There was a hint of a smile and she held out the file to her, but she wasn't sure if it was a proud smile or not.

"Did you open this?" She asked, her voice filled with skepticism.

Sharpay shook her head, hoping her voice wouldn't shake when she spoke. "No."

"Positive?"

"Absolutely."

"Is that your final answer?" Angela raised an eyebrow as Sharpay looked at her. Another senior snickered from her spot on the small couch by the window. When she looked back at Lily, she had an amused expression on her face, which Sharpay guessed was the reaction to her best friend's words.

"I took it out and brought it here. I swear."

Lily took a torturously slow breath, staring Sharpay down with her dark blue eyes. Now that a dim lamp had been turned on, Sharpay could see them better as they analyzed her. Which didn't make her uncomfortable_ at all_. Lily finally broke her gaze, turning her attention down to the folder in her hands. She flipped it open, and smiled when a small orange string fell out of it. Sharpay's forehead scrunched up. What the hell? She tilted her head towards Angela and spoke in a low tone, saying, "One, two completed. heck video for confirmation."

Sharpay blinked. One _and _two? One for going, two for coming back? One for getting Kathi's keys, two for getting the file? Was there a part three? Four? _Five?_ And what video confirmation? Had they taped her? She was sick of this cryptic crap. But, of course, Lily didn't bother to explain her words further. She just closed the folder and looked down at her watch and then back at Sharpay. "You've got a good thirteen minutes left-" She held the manila file out to her, Tiara's face staring up at her. "-return this for me, will you?"

Sharpay resisted the urge to let out a loud, animalistic grunt. Instead, she took the folder into her hand and nodded like a good girl. "I'd love to."

Hopefully Lily didn't notice the sarcasm in the voice.

Unless that smirk on her face meant she was impressed by it.

/

Gabriella closed the bathroom door to Lily's single dorm quietly, took a few steps, and opened the door to her own . She'd excused herself to go to the bedroom to look for her phone charger. Weird excuse, but an effective one, nonetheless. She just needed to get out of earshot of everyone, especially Lily, for what she was about to do.

Once she was sheltered in her own room, door closed, she leaned her back against the wall and took out her fully charged pink cell phone. She ran through her contacts of her Blackberry Tour and pressed send once she got to the right number. The line rang twice before a husky male voice answered on the other line. "Yeeello?"

Gabriella grimaced at the thought of Max, the beefy security guard, sitting there watching Jimmy Kimmel with a box of donuts. She mustered up her best adult voice and answered, "Yes, this is Kathi, the dorm advisor over at Hale? I was outside for a smoke just now and noticed someone walking into the admissions office. Do you think you could check it out? I won't be able to sleep if I think there's someone running a muck on campus."

"No problem Kath, I'm on it."

Gabriella grinned and ended the call. This would probably be the most action he'd get all school year.

And why deny him the pleasure?

/

Sharpay made sure the file was in the exact same place it had been when she took it out. After slowly pushing the metal door shut, she stepped back, making sure she didn't drop a paper, or a paperclip, or something. She also looked around for a few seconds for some sort of video recorder, finding nothing. She looked at the clock on her phone, which reassured her a good eight minutes to get back to Hale. If she ran, she could make it in three. Which left time to return Kathi's keys and haul ass upstairs. Thankfully it took a lot less time to replace the file than it took to get it the first place. She backed out of the room, pulling the door closed quietly even though she knew no one was around to hear. She walked through the office once more, looking out the large window that displayed the entire campus, admiring the gas lit lamp posts that seemed to be burning brighter than they should for their size. She was putting the keys back into the secretary's desk when she heard it- a door closing. And footsteps following. She pushed the drawer shut and backpedaled, looking around the room for a place to hide. She couldn't go back into the file room now that she'd locked it. _Crap_. What she needed was a broom closet. A bathroom. A-

Mid freak-out, a warm hand grabbed her elbow from behind and pulled her back into a pitch-black room. "Who, the-"

Another hand clamped over her mouth and it was the infirmary all over again. She mumbled a few more seconds of protest before the light in the main office was flipped on. The thin strip of light coming from underneath the door stayed on for exactly 43 seconds, footsteps sounding from the other side the entire time. The hand fell from her mouth around second 16, but the other hand kept a hold on her arm, keeping her in place.

As if she would have moved anyway.

While the footsteps once again faded away and lights turned off, Sharpay let her heartbeat return to a normal pace. Sharpay couldn't feel or hear whoever was holding her breathing, which momentarily led her believe a ghost had saved her. But weren't ghosts supposed to be scary? Maybe it was Casper.

Boo.

After a few quiet seconds, Casper let her arm go and opened the door. Sharpay walked out into the office cautiously. When she came to the conclusion whoever had entered was gone, she turned back to the room she had been pulled into. The door was closed. She was sure she didn't have the time to investigate, but she couldn't help her own curiosity. She had seven minutes now… she'd still have time to run back to Hale if she snuck a quick glance at her rescuer. Her guardian angel, if you please. She took a step towards the door and turned the doorknob slowly, pushing the door open with hesitation. She felt along the inside of the wall, flicking the light switch that illuminated the black room. There he was, sitting in one of the revolving chairs that lined a large conference table in the center of the room. He was blinking his eyes as they adjusted to the light. He looked up at her and Sharpay smiled.

Troy Bolton. _My guardian angel_. Yeah, that sounds about right. "Troy, I-"

Troy lifted a finger to his lips, a gleam in his eyes. Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek. Right, no talking to anyone. Did that mean they could… _not_ talk? A kiss wouldn't hurt anyone. She shook the thought from her head before it went any further. _Remember Tiara, Sharpay. He loves Tiara. You can't compete. _She nodded and turned to walk out of the room. With her hand on the light switch, she looked over her shoulder. "Thank you."

Troy smirked, making it all the more difficult for Sharpay not to run over and hug him. "Don't run into Max on your way out."

Sharpay nodded slowly, turning off the lights and closing the door behind her. The entire walk- sprint- back to Hale was spent with a goofy grin on her face. She slid her ID and tried to slide through the giant wooden door as quietly as possible. Her eyes scanned across the giant clock in the common room, and a wave of nervousness flooded through her. She had four minutes to run back into Kathi's room, put the keys back, and climb two flights of stairs to get to Lily.

Thunder Cats a-go!

Sharpay made the mad dash past the staircase, past the common room and the giant conference-like table, back to the door that led to the dorm advisor's apartment. She wasn't going to waste any time. She closed her eyes and turned the doorknob quick, like a band-aid, and let out a huff of relief when not a sound was made. She cracked the door open and slid through, tiptoeing across the living room-like area, and over to the hook she had taken the keys from. She tried to loop the key chain onto it without making a jingling noise-which was fairly unsuccessful. Sharpay flinched and looked over to the open bedroom door. Now she was just being paranoid. There was no way a little key jingle could have woken her up. A ringing phone, however, definitely could.

Sharpay whip-lashed as she heard Kathi mumble something from her room. Why did everything wrong have to happen _now_? And why was somebody calling her at 12:40 in the morning? Jimmie calling had been one thing, but really, that was just weird. If it was a telemarketer, she was going to sneak back in later and throw the phone across the room. Sharpay ran across the room and compacted her body as tightly as she could behind the oversized couch. She looked up and saw the door to the bathroom. Hide in the bathroom or hide behind the couch. Bathroom… Couch…

Wise choice on her part.

But it was too late now. Sharpay could hear Kathi's feet shuffling stop the plush carpet as she went towards the phone, which was on a ledge only a few inches away from the key hook. She heard the click as the dorm advisor picked up the cordless phone carelessly. "Hello?" She mumbled, her voice sleepy. Sharpay shifted uncomfortably from the cramped position as she felt her phone digging into her hip from her pocket. "Hello? Anyone there?… No?… Seven days, wha?" Sharpay shook her head incredulously.

What? You don't quote The Ring when you get a phone call?

"Alright." Kathi mumbled, haphazardly slamming the phone back onto the charger. Sharpay winced. "God damn telemarketers getting me up at all hours of the night. I'd like to call them while they're sleeping and see how _they_ like it. Getting me out of bed and..."

Her voice faded away as she walked back into her bedroom. Sharpay peered around the corner just as the bedroom door was pushed shut. The green clock light on Kathi's iO cable box was staring at her. Had that phone call really taken a whole two minutes? Sharpay pushed herself up, feet sliding in her Uggs and she scrambled out the door, taking her time to make sure it closed silently because Kathi probably hadn't fallen back asleep yet. Then it was back down the hall and up the stairs. As she turned to go down the hallway, someone stepped into the field on vision. Brown hair. Black sweater.

Gabriella.

God knows why, but she was in such a good mood about not getting caught by Max or Kathi, Sharpay smiled as she approached her. "Hi Gabriella."

/

_Hi Gabriella_. Gabriella rolled her eyes. This girl could play nice all she wanted. But Gabriella _wasn't_ nice. And it was time Sharpay learned it.

As if she didn't know already.

"Enough niceties, Blondie. Listen up." Gabriella spat, quietly as to not be overheard by the rest of Hale in Lily's room, as she walked towards Sharpay until they were face to face.

"I have to-"

"I don't like you, Sharpay. And I'm not going to pretend to." Sharpay's face twisted at this and she took a step back. "As of now, I can tolerate you. But only just. And do you want to know why?" Sharpay backed into a wall and Gabriella felt a reflexive menacing grin pop onto her face. "It's obvious that Troy is only using you to get over Tiara. I don't know if he's mentioned it or not, but they never actually broke up. And you see, Tiara's my best friend. I don't like that you're imposing on their two year long relationship."

Right. _That's_ why.

"Are you sure you're not just jealous that now, because she's gone, you finally get a chance to get Troy to like you? And if he's giving me attention you can't exactly _woo _him can you?"

Gabriella narrowed her eyes. She was two seconds from slapping the smirk off of Sharpay's innocent face. "You _don't_ want to mess with me, Mexico. It's a one way road down the path to pain."

Path to pain? Really?

"And Nurse Adele won't be able to fix you up this time. So before this gets messy, here's some advice I suggest you take." She watched Sharpay furrow her eyebrows in confusion. Gabriella took another step closer. "Stay. Away. From Troy Bolton."

Sharpay's brown eyes went timid and Gabriella knew she'd won this. But then Sharpay smiled. "Troy kissed me." A heat wave crept up Gabriella's neck. Bitch. "Twice." She dug her fingers into her palm. _Giant_ bitch.

Somebody cleared their throat behind Gabriella. She straightened up immediately, stepped back from Sharpay, and crossed her arms, trying to keep herself from introducing her hand to Sharpay's cheek.

"Montez, you know the rules. No deterring progress.." Lily's lips were in a straight line. Gabriella bit back the urge the roll her eyes. "We'll talk about it in the morning."

Fuck. Talks with President Lily were never a good thing. Gabriella took a deep breath and looked over at Sharpay, who noticed and looked back. She tried sending her a mental note by chanting the phrase _I hate you_ in her head repeatedly. Either Sharpay didn't understand or she was just getting higher on the bitch scale, because she smiled sweetly.

"As for you, Sharpay…" Lily continued, and for a second Gabriella got hopefully that she was going to say that was too late and that she had to move to Gregory, the lame house for all the other upper classmen. "Celebratory festivities this weeked." Sharpay grinned and Lily nodded. "You'd better get back to the infirmary before Nurse Adele decides to do a late night check up. I'll have someone get you in the morning before breakfast so you can shower."

"That'd be…" Sharpay ran a finger through her hair self-consciously. Gabriella smirked slightly. At least _she_ had something over Sharpay right now. "Much appreciated. Thanks."

Lily smiled. "Get some sleep." She redirected her gaze to Gabriella. "You deserve it."

Gabriella watched as Sharpay turned away from Lily to go back down the hallway to the staircase. Gabriella looked over at her, not turning her head completely, and looking from the corner of her eye. Sharpay noticed and shrugged a shoulder before continuing on down the hall. Gabriella gritted her teeth together as Lily's blue eyes scolded her before walking back into her room. Seconds later, the rest of Hale came pouring out, exhausted expressions on their faces. Kelsi came out, pulling her turtleneck down so that she could scratch her collarbone. "Why the mean face, Montez?"

Gabriella turned to her as a senior named Jennifer who lived on the second floor walked in between them. "It's worse than I thought."

"What are you talking about?" Kelsi yawned.

"Sharpay and Troy. They… He…"

"_Ewh_. Did he get himself checked? She could have a foreign disease."

"The only check he's getting is a reality check."

"Clever."

Gabriella shook her head at her friend's amused expression. "Someone needs to remind Troy he has a girlfriend."

"And that someone would be?"

Gabriella pulled her sweetest smile from the depths. "Why, his closest female friend, of course."

Kelsi took a step to the right and leaned against her dorm room door, turning the doorknob. "And you think that's you?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Because you almost got the apple of his eye caught by both the security guard and the dorm advisor during initiation."

"It's a step above getting said apple lost in the woods."

"Touché."


	14. Nolan Clark

"I'm _so_ glad you passed."

Sharpay returned Martha's smile as they walked through the large front doors of Hale. She felt like she was on top of the world. Two days at Eastwood and she felt that confidence and strength that had taken two years to get back home. She hadn't been able to sleep when she'd gotten back to the infirmary yesterday. There was too much going through her mind: She was in Hale, she'd made it through initiation, Troy had saved her from getting caught, Lily accepted her now, and she'd told Gabriella off- no..

She'd called her _out_.

And another plus was Nurse Adele hadn't noticed that she'd woken up in different clothes than she had gone to sleep in. She was either going through an early stage of Alzheimer's, or hadn't bothered to point it out. But her temperature had gone down to 99, so she was allowed to go to classes. Why she was excited about that? She had no idea. But she was. And she couldn't help it. And as Lily had said, she sent Martha to come get her in the morning. So here they were at 6:30, the sun barely breaking the horizon, so that Sharpay could take a much-needed shower. She could _definitely _do without smelling like a drowned Christmas tree for another meal. Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek to keep her smile contained. The thought of breakfast brought the thought of Troy. But her mind couldn't focus on one topic to think about.

Could she thank him again for helping her last night? Would she sit next to him again? Could she? Of course she could… unless they switched seats every morning? What if he wanted to sit next to James or something? Or Jason? Would he save her a seat? Or would he and the other Stuart juniors just come to Hale to walk with them to lunch like Sharpay had seen them do two days ago? What should she wear? Jeans? Another dress? Would Troy think she was too girly if she wore a dress again? Would he care if she were too girly? Did he like the type of girl who wore sweatpants? She only owned two pairs of sweatpants… and if she was going to be around girls like Lily and Kelsi all day, she there was no way in _hell_ she was wearing them. Sharpay cut herself off- she was going to drive herself crazy. And over what? Nothing. She was over-thinking things. She just needed to relax and enjoy herself today. While, you know, finishing the homework that had accumulated over the past two days.

"Not that I thought you wouldn't or anything. Total faith in you." Martha finished, trailing her fingertips along the handrail as they ascended the staircase to the third floor. As they rounded the second floor hallway, Sharpay faintly heard an alarm sounding behind a closed door.

"Thanks." She said, walking alongside her light blonde haired friend on the stairs. Sharpay noticed that today she was wearing a pair of two-inch burgundy T-straps that matched her sweater and contrasted her light grey jeans. Martha stayed by her side all the way down the third floor hallway. When Sharpay got to her door she turned and saw her friend leaning against the door just across from her own, turning the doorknob. She nodded her head towards Sharpay's door, a knowing smile on her lips. "Good luck."

/

Gabriella was crouched on the floor in front of her side of the closet when she heard the door open and close. She didn't need to look up to know it was her sickly roommate. What she _did_ need was to find the other half of her pair of platform Jimmy Choos. She didn't fully realize how annoying it was going to be that the closet was on Sharpay's side of the room until she heard her rummaging through her suitcase behind her. Gabriella couldn't help but note that it was still partially unpacked. Was she planning on leaving? Because she wouldn't mind. She'd even help her re-pack.

Because isn't that what roommates are for?

Gabriella let out a sigh of victory when she saw the dark purple heel. She straightened out her dark grey Nanette Lepore just-above-the-knee dress and stood up to slide her foot into the platform. She turned and walked over to her side of the room, sliding into the open bathroom door in an attempt to be alone for a few more minutes before hiding out in Kelsi's single until breakfast. All she thought of when she saw Sharpay now was Troy- and not in a good way. She looked in the large mirror above the sink, adjusting her plum headband about five times before deciding to go back out. She was barely two steps outside of the bathroom when she nearly collided with Sharpay, her towel, and her various toiletries. They stood there, staring in silence for a little less than ten seconds before Sharpay smiled and walked around her into their bathroom.

Gabriella turned towards the closed door and glared. How dare she smile like that. Who did she think she was? Besides, you know, the blonde bitch who lied about being kissed by Troy just to piss her off. Because that's what it had to be. A lie. A perjury. A fib. A false recount of a previous event.

"What's with the face?" Kelsi's words were muffled mid-yawn as she made an attempt to cover her open mouth. She pressed the open bedroom door closed behind her and moved over to Gabriella's twin XL bed. She sat back on it, pulling her black legging-clad legs into Indian pose.

"There is no way Troy could have kissed _that_." Gabriella gestured towards the bathroom, where the faint sound of the shower being turned on could be heard through the wall. "I mean, really. Besides the fact she's invested in the fashion world's horrid reinvention of Woodstock- because that alone is enough to repel me- he was crazy about Tiara forty-eight hours ago."

"Martha told me that Brooke told her that Lily told Angela that he kissed her yesterday."

"Not that I don't _love_ a good game of he said, she said, but I'm very well aware, remember? She _tried_ rubbing it in my face last night?"

_Succeeded_ would have probably been a better fit.

"Yes, but apparently it was before he brought her to the infirmary. Which leaves the possibility open that it was just an I'm-sorry-about-my-friends thing."

"A pity kiss." Gabriella pursed her lips sllightly. Pity or not, it was still a kiss from Troy. And she was not the recipient. And that was not okay. "It probably didn't even mean anything."

Kelsi pulled her SideKick Blade from the pouch pocket of her baggy teal cardigan and waved it in the air. "Want to find out?"

/

If Jason yelling_ "fucking phone"_ in his groggy sleep voice hadn't woken Troy up, the sound of his Blackberry singing Swing by Savage would have done it. Troy grabbed his pillow from underneath his head and cradled it over his face. Wednesday meant today's free period was first period French. The glorious idea of a free period was a trick Eastwood came up with to allow its students an extra hour each school day to keep up with the massive piles of homework the teachers shelled out to their academically gifted scholars. That meant that every Wednesday until next semester was his sleep-in-and-skip-breakfast day. But now that Troy was awake, all he could do was wonder what the chef, a grade-A Culinary Institute graduate, had made for breakfast this morning- and if a certain blonde would be in attendance. Troy sat up in his bed, his Ralph Lauren pillow cased pillow falling to his lap. After rubbing his eye with his knuckle, he looked over at Jason's bed, where his roommate's hair was sticking up in all directions. After looking over whatever was on his phone, his green eyes met his blue ones. "Aren't you awake a little early? Or did you forget it was Wednesday?"

Troy glared. "Ever heard of the vibrate setting on your phone?"

"Blame Kelsi. Her text."

"Blame you. Your phone."

"Alright, Groucho, relax." Jason threw his pillow across the room at Troy's head before leaning down to grab a towel from the floor.

Troy caught the pillow in his left hand, placing it on top of his own and leaning both his elbows on them. "Well, what'd she want?"

"She and Montez wanted to know what time I was coming. And since you're awake now you can come, too. Eat some eggs. Drink some juice. Flirt with Sharpay."

Troy turned his head abruptly, too fast for his tired muscles. "What was that?"

"You heard me. If anyone knows flirting in this school, it's me. And you're all over Blondie like sauce on pasta."

"I just met her. You're exaggerating."

"If I dare to recall, you said something similar about a different blonde freshman year."

Troy looked down at Jason's pillow, picking an invisible piece of lint off the navy pillowcase before throwing it back onto his bed. It was too early in the morning for Tiara talk. "I asked her out after two _weeks_. Not days."

"I may as well have been in two seconds. You were practically inseparable after the first day you met. You were those two people who were a couple before you were actually, you know, a couple." Jason leaned against the doorframe of their bathroom and stared at Troy. "And now it's happening again. Round two with the New Money Mexican."

"I'm not going to-" Truth be told, he didn't know what he was going to do. Troy cut himself off and ran a hand through his hair. It was getting kind of long- the tips of it starting to curl to the side and skim his eyelashes. If Tiara were here, she would have made him get a hair cut about half an inch ago. Not that he didn't mind Tiara's maternal-like dominance, it came in handy when he got lazy, but it was kind of nice to be in charge of what he looked like for once. For the two Tiara-filled years of dating, she'd liked playing stylist- offering up clothing suggestions, colognes she thought he'd like, shampoos that smelt best. She was a girlfriend-slash-personal shopper. But he hadn't really needed it, nor had he asked for any of it. He'd let her drag him to the small strip of stores in the town off campus because he loved her. And it didn't hurt that three out of four times it resulted in almost getting caught making out in the dressing room. But he was a big boy. He could take care of himself. But if Sharpay wanted to take a turn at pushing him into a dressing room, he wouldn't protest.

Neither would she.

"Well, you kissed her, man. Your first real kiss after Tiara." Troy looked on in confusion. Had he told Jason he kissed Sharpay? He didn't recall. As if reading his mind, Jason elaborated. "Lily knows all."

Lily. Of course. Neither he nor Sharpay had to even say a word for her to find out. She just… knew. Everything. It was very reminiscent of Big Brother in that book 1984 he'd read in eighth grade. "So what if I kissed her. You kiss girls all the time without it meaning anything."

"But I'm me. You're a relationship guy. Everything you do with a girl means something. Not to say that's a bad thing, I mean maybe when I'm forty I'll be like that too…"

Troy shook his head. Where was Jason trying to go with this? Jason raised an eyebrow, continuing the unspoken battle to get Troy to cave. Finally, he rolled his blue eyes. "Fine. I like her. Is it such a crime that we kissed? She's nice, she's cute… It's not like she's a Gregory girl." Now, that last statement could seem like an elitist Stuart-boy thing to say, but really, Gregory was not the best dorm to be living in. Mostly for upper classmen, a few exceptions scattered in, a few of the girls had more than the normal amount of facial hair for a female.

It's called Gregory for a reason.

Jason shrugged and typed something on his phone before throwing it back on his bed. "No crime. She's hot. I get it. But with every hot girl, you've got to be ready for the competition. Jump on it now or face the consequences."

Jimmie's name popped into Troy's head, causing a slight tremor to creep up his neck. But he was two time zones away so he wouldn't be a problem. Sharpay didn't know any other boys besides him and the other Stuarts… right? Shit. "I don't own her, Jase."

"Fine. Play coy. But when you see her at the gym and Nolan Clark is chatting her up on the treadmill, we'll see who owns who."

With his parting words, Jason closed the bathroom door and turned the shower on. Troy threw his pillow behind him and stood up from the bed, walking over to the closet. Suddenly, his Wednesday sleep-in sounded like the worst idea ever.

/

Sharpay looked over her schedule one last time before folding and stuffing it into her purse. Luckily, when she had gotten out of the shower, Gabriella had left, leaving her to get dressed without judgment. After eight minutes of deciding, she finally threw a grey sweater over a flowy dark pink dress, matched it with some grey Manolos and a called it a day. She felt weird looking in the mirror. Everything she was wearing was a product of the I-feel-bad-you-have-to-leave-your-friends-let-me-buy-you-things-because-my-new-high-paying-job-lets-me-afford-it shopping trip in New York. Not that she'd been deprived a fashionable lifestyle in New Mexico, but that had been different. She hadn't gone out and bought a $175 sweater for school- but that's what she was wearing now. The day before they'd gone to Connecticut, she and her mom had made a pit stop in Manhattan for a developers meeting. During the meeting, her mother had given Sharpay a credit card and told her to have fun for a few hours. It had been easy once she stopped at a Starbucks and a cute twenty-something barista had used his knowledge to draw a map of the best stores for her on a napkin. And just like that, she'd made her first friend on the east coast.

Too bad he was probably gay.

Sharpay had easily fallen in love with the city. And as soon as she had gotten _almost_ comfortable with her new surroundings, her mother had picked her up in a shiny new car- paid for by the company- and had driven her to their new Midtown apartment- which she called a house, that was also paid for by the company. They'd ordered Chinese and by 9 o'clock Sharpay had been so exhausted that she passed out on the floor of her empty new bedroom with nothing more than an uncovered pillow and a comforter the moving company had dropped off earlier in the day. She'd awaken the next day with enough time to shower, do her hair, and shove all her new clothes into a suitcase before having to drive up to this stupid school. Though, she had to admit, it was getting less stupid by the minute.

She gave herself one more glance in the mirror, running a hand through her straightened hair, before hiking her purse into the crook of her arm and walking towards the door. Her plan for her free period after breakfast consisted on catching up on the two day's worth of homework she hadn't even looked at. She'd even thought of skipping breakfast and heading straight to the library. She could handle missing breakfast for another day. The thought had crossed her mind that she would run into Troy, using his free period to catch up on some work in the library too. That dream vanished when Martha told her he slept in every Wednesday. That's why she was so surprised to see him outside Hale, his hands stuffed into the pockets of a pair of dark wash jeans with an semi-exhausted look on his face. The sleeves of his flannel shirt were rolled up his elbows, the various shades of blue wrinkling together. As if feeling her staring, he looked up and caught her eye. Sharpay was too busy trying to keep her heart from stopping that she barely noticed him smile before turning back to Ryan and that tall boy Zeke. She noticed Gabriella a few feet away, her arms folded across her chest while Jason spoke to her and Kelsi. The quiet couple- or Sharpay assumed that they were- were nowhere to be seen.

She followed Martha down the steps over to where Zeke, Ryan, and Troy were planted. Sharpay stopped next to Ryan, across from Troy, pulling her sweater tighter around her as a cold morning breeze blew between them. Ryan draped an arm over her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Congrats, Evans. Not to be a Debbie Downer, but I was almost positive you were going to get caught when your phone rang."

Sharpay nodded slowly. How had Ryan known about that? Was he hiding as a silent observer like Troy had been? Only to come out when she was in trouble? "I could have sworn it was on vibrate."

Just then, Jason passed Troy's side, pulling at his shoulder until he fell into step with him. "Told you there'd be competition."

Sharpay was confused about the overheard statement, but she wasn't about to go and ask what it meant. Instead, she walked next to Martha, who was talking cooking with Zeke. Zeke cooked? You wouldn't have guessed it by looking at him. He looked more like a basketball player. But then again, if Gabriella gave out a genuine smile you couldn't tell she was Empress of Bitch-oslovakia. Not that she'd ever be the one to see such a smile. "So Sharpay, what do your parents do for a living?"

Martha laid a hand on Sharpay's arm. "Feel free to ignore that. Zeke just likes bragging about his father's thriving restaurant chain."

Zeke smirked, like he was in the middle of a game that only he was playing. "The _chain_ originated in New Orleans. But the rave reviews drew in a few A-list chefs, Emeril and such, and then they opened one in Miami, Atlanta… Then they started moving north towards DC, New York, and Boston. That's how I ended up here, you know? Mom heard about the school's reputation and moved me up here last year. Because with the rate the-"

"Blah, blah blah, blah blah."

Zeke's bright brown eyes rolled at the back of Gabriella's head. "Sorry, princess, I forgot daddy's stock market mishap still has you on edge."

Sharpay watched Gabriella spin on the heel of her Jimmy Choo, causing Ryan to collide into her. She used the palm of her hand to push his shoulder out of the way, where he proceeded to knock into Troy. Ryan's face looked mildly irritated before Kelsi curled her hand around his arm, silently telling him to take a breath. Jason's eyes showed that he was somewhat enjoying the evident throw-down as he and Troy exchanged a glance.

"My father's financial _situation_," Zeke raised an amused eyebrow and Sharpay gave him a silent round of applause. She knew herself how hard it was to maintain composure when Gabriella looked about ready to stab you with the heel of her platform. The fact he had a solid three or four inches on her right now gave him a slight advantage though. "-has been righted. Keep your mouth shut about things you're not involved in."

"What do you have to threaten me with? A sixty dollar headband?"

"Zeke." Sharpay turned and saw Troy moving away from Ryan and in between the feud. He gave Zeke an I-know-it's-not-your-fault-but-back-off-anyway look before putting a hand on Gabriella's back. She relaxed slightly, her face still showing that she was obviously fuming. After a few seconds of glaring up at Zeke, she gave in and let Troy lead her back towards the cafeteria. Jason caught up on her other side, and Ryan bumped fists with Zeke before dropping an arm around Kelsi's shoulder and following suit. Martha and Zeke laughed quietly between themselves as they too started walking. Sharpay, though, found herself staring, frozen in some weird mix of jealousy and discomfort. She watched as Troy leaned towards Gabriella with a grin on his face, telling her something that made her shake her head. In laughter or annoyance, she couldn't tell, either way, she didn't have much of an appetite anymore.

Martha seemed to have noticed her lack of presence, turning around and yelling back to her, "Sharpay, you coming?"

"I just realized… I, I probably don't have enough time to finish my work. I need a head start. I'll see you at lunch, okay?"

She turned around so fast that she didn't even notice Troy's disappointed eyes when he looked back.

/

Troy didn't know why, but he felt like he'd been stood up. He could barely enjoy this morning's waffles because all he could do was constantly look over at the empty chair next to him. He pushed himself away from their table, trying to avoid the back of his chair hitting Lily's in the process. He acknowledged the curious stares from his table by saying he was "going back to sleep." He tossed the remains of his breakfast and left the cafeteria. It was a short walk to the library, the wide building nestled in between the West Wing and the South Wing. Among all the questions asked about Eastwood's campus, two of the most prominent popped into his head. Question one: Why were they called wings instead of halls? Answer: It was a horrible pun the Eastwood founder had, figuring that because the school's students were referred to as Eastwood Eagles, the buildings they were educated in should be referred to as wings. Question two: If the East Wing is on the left side of campus, shouldn't it, geographically speaking, be the West Wing? Answer: The Eastwood founder wasn't, geographically speaking, intelligent.

He walked through the open doors of the library, the librarian looking up at him as he did. A confused expression spread across her wrinkled face. He didn't blame her- he had no idea what he was doing here either. He looked around the room only to see a foreign exchange student two inches from a 1940-something looking newspaper, probably trying to decipher some small grayed text for a research paper. That's when he figured it was probably useless down here; the stacks on this floor were reserved for extra textbooks and books from the library pre-renovation. He dragged himself up the staircase that curled from the front door, up the right wall, and up to the newer, less duty stacks. A few computers were lined against the wall next to a second, unoccupied, librarian's desk. Spread out in front of the desk were a set of study tables, each with four chairs bordering it. His blue eyes scanned over a few people in the room- people actually went to library this early? - before they fell upon Sharpay. Three textbooks sat on the table front of her, including a notebook that she was furiously scribbling in.

Something stopped Troy from approaching her right away. Maybe it was because he didn't want to interrupt her. Maybe it was because he didn't know what to say when he finally got over to her. Either way, he felt weird just standing there at the top of the staircase. After a few useless seconds, Sharpay dropped her pen on the desk and leaned her forehead into her palm. He should make his move, now. Right? Right.

/

"New girl?"

Sharpay lifted her head out of her hands, brushing her bangs out of her eyes and she stared at the boy in front of her. His curious pale blue eyes and dark blonde hair made him look like some sort of Abercrombie & Fitch baby doll. He had a small smile on his face and a grey polo on his torso. He looked like the type of guy that would be living in Stuart. She would've thought he did, had she not been introduced to all the tenants at lunch yesterday.

"That's me." _That's me? God, Sharpay, you can talk to Troy Bolton and you can't talk to _him_?_ Who was he anyway?

/

Nolan Clark. That asshole.

Troy diverted from his current course towards Sharpay and in between a few bookshelves. This guy was bad news. Well, not academically. And not physically, either… But if morals could be bad news, Nolan's would be all over the Most Wanted list.

/

"Mind if I sit?" Sharpay shook her head as Nolan pulled out the seat in front of her and sat down, placing his elbows on the table. Sharpay felt slightly awkward. As cute as this boy was, and as much as she wanted to talk to him, if she didn't finish this homework, she wasn't sure if she would ever catch up.

She felt like they'd been in a staring contest for five minutes before finally saying something. "Listen, as much as I'm enjoying this conversation, I'm trying to-"

"Finish questions three through eleven on page 112?"

Sharpay blinked. Jesus, this guy was hot _and_ psychic? "I… Um… How did-"

"I sit behind you in Daniels' Euro class. The one you showed up to for five minutes on Monday? And then proceeded to skip yesterday? I don't know where you came from, but at Eastwood we actually _attend_ classes."

He said it with the same sort of smug confidence that Troy often spoke with. Sharpay leaned forward, her elbow on the edge of the table and her chin on her fist. "If you were a better stalker, you'd know I was in the infirmary yesterday."

"Stalk is such a dirty word. I prefer the term _casually observe_." Sharpay shook her head, trying to keep the laugh from escaping her lips. Nolan grinned. "Where were you on Monday, then? Gallivanting with pretty boy Bolton?"

"Bolt- Troy took me on a tour of the campus."

"If you don't want to tell me the truth, that's fine." Nolan leaned back in his chair, a few strands of wavy hair falling across his eyes. "But don't lie, you're bad at it."

"What makes you think I'm lying?"

"Troy Bolton's not the brightest light on the tree. The chances of Lucas calling on him to give a tour are one in-"

Sharpay was in the middle of staring at Nolan when he looked up at the person next to him. Whoever it was, cleared their throat, interrupting their conversation. She brought her eyes up past the familiar-looking shirt and up to profile she could stare at all day.

/

"Clark." Troy noted. He tried not to make his voice _too_ monotone and make Sharpay think he was a complete jerk to some random guy. Nolan Clark was not a random guy. Nolan Clark was a lady thief. A very successful one, which made him all the more annoying. Troy didn't see how. His curly blonde head looked like a mop. Who wanted to hook up with a mop? Apparently a bunch of girls in his class, plus a few seniors. He'd gotten with Gabriella freshman year when Jason was trying to go after her. He'd then gotten with Kelsi when Ryan was pursuing her last year. He'd tried to get Martha, but she'd had a boyfriend at the time and so it blew up in his face. And most importantly, and probably the reason Troy hated Clark so much, he'd tried to snatch away Tiara when it was pretty clear she'd been spending her time with Troy. It was not happening with Sharpay. He didn't care if he _did_ tell Jason he didn't own Sharpay. Did that mean he couldn't… rent her? Troy looked over at Sharpay, who had a curious glint in her eyes while looking up at him. He could not believe he just referred to her as an object. She was not an object. Object of his affection, perhaps, yes.

Purchasable object, not so much.

"Bolton." Clark could be as friendly as he wanted. Troy was not falling for it. God, he hoped Sharpay wasn't either. "What brings _you_ to library?

Right. He probably should have come up with a better story than 'Oh, just wanted to know why Sharpay wasn't at lunch this morning because I'm nosey and protective, more so now that she's affiliating with you'.

"I have a Psych paper due tomorrow. I need sources that aren't from the internet."

"And you waited until today to get it?" The cynicism in his voice made Troy want to punch him. He turned his stupid mop head towards Sharpay and said, "See what I mean about the brightest light?"

Sharpay looked as if she was trying to hold back laughter with a tight-lipped smile that made a dimple appear. Great. Mop Head: 1, Troy Bolton: 0.

"Well, take a seat, Bolton. We were just talking about you."

"I bet you were." Luckily the chair next to Nolan had Sharpay's books piled in front of it. And so, refusing to move them and be any closer to the weasel then absolutely necessary, he circled around the table and pulled the chair out next to Sharpay. While he sat down Nolan's eyes said 'You think it bothers me you're sitting there? It doesn't. I'm an asshole and I don't want to sit next to you, anyway' while his mouth spoke, "So I hear you gave a tour yesterday?"

Sharpay shifted uncomfortably in her seat and she tucked her- now seeming longer than yesterday because of it being straightened- hair behind her ear. Troy felt his eyes narrow slightly as he shot across a 'where are you going with this?' vibe. "Tour?"

He felt a solid nudge in his calf from the side of Sharpay's heel. She kept her eyes trained forward, though, at Nolan, who was still staring at Troy with a 'yeah, I know she just nudged you' attitude. "Sharpay said you gave her a tour. Now, I'm curious… Is this the same kind of tour you gave Tiara? Or is it more like the one _I _gave her?"

The tone change in his voice was almost unnoticeable. But it was there. And Troy was not happy about it. If ever there was a moment to turn into the incredible Hulk, it was now. "If you're referring to the tour you also gave Kelsi and Gabriella, I heard it wasn't that… informative. You can't expect someone to inflict your poor guide talent on a girl as smart as Sharpay."

"My tours are never inflicted. Sometimes they're offered, but most often students just present themselves as candidates."

/

Sharpay could safely say she had no idea what the hell was going on. But she was curious as to why Troy was glaring at Nolan the way he was. And why Nolan seemed so amused at Troy's displeasure. "Um," The two snapped their heads in her direction. Sharpay picked up her pen and tapped the point against the tabletop. "Not that this isn't... you know… fun. But I really need to finish this homework."

"I'm a pretty good tutor. I could help you catch up, if you want."

Sharpay smiled across at Nolan. She couldn't help it. His voice had this enchanting, melodic tone to it. There would be no declining of any offers. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. I've got a free, anyway."

"That'd be… really helpful, actually, thank you."

"Don't mention it. I just have to go get my notes and I'll be right back." Nolan stood up from his seat, pushing it back towards the table. He circled around the table, back towards the spiraling staircase. As he passed Troy's side, he clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Always a pleasure, Bolton."

She was so preoccupied smiling at Nolan when he looked back at her that Sharpay completely missed Troy's I'm-about-to-punch-you expression. As soon as she turned to Troy, Sharpay saw his blue eyes searching her with a confounded expression. "What are you doing?"

"I _thought_ I was getting tutored in Euro. But I'm guessing to you there's some underlying event I'm not aware of?"

"Sharpay, Nolan... Nolan's like Jason. No- he's worse than Jason. Jason knows boundaries. Nolan goes after whoever the hell he wants."

Sharpay tried not to look too excited, biting back a larger smile. "Are you jealous?"

"What? No."

She scanned his face for any sign that he was lying, but she found nothing. No faltering face, no nervous finger drumming- just his perfect stupid face staring at her own. "Well then, don't you think you should give me a little more credit? I handled Jason. I can handle Nolan."

This seemed to silence Troy. He just sat there in silence, taking turns looking into each one of her eyes. It felt like it had been ten minutes before he let out a sigh of defeat. "Fine." He stood up from his seat, flashed a smile and started to back away slowly. "See you in class."

"Wait, Troy." Troy had gotten quite far, almost near the staircase, and so when she spoke, it was at a volume not appropriate for a library. A few students turned looked back and forth between the two of them before returning to their work. He turned his body slightly, his head peering over his shoulder. "What about your Pysch paper?" A small, knowing grin came to his face.

"There isn't one."


	15. Post Midnight Rendezvous

"Very good, Miss Evans. Glad to see your absences haven't slowed you down."

Out of the twenty-four students in Mr. Daniels' Modern Euro class; twelve were so enthralled with the teacher's heavy British accent that they were barely paying attention to the words he was actually speaking, seven were writing the answer to the question Sharpay just answered in their notebooks, two were dozing off, one was glaring, one was smiling in accomplishment, and one was staring across the room at the girl so clearly not interested in him. Troy tried not to feel too bothered when Sharpay, smiling broadly, turned and met eyes with Nolan, whose desk was situated in the window between her and Martha's. Fuck Nolan Clark. He wasn't getting away with this. Troy knew better. And he hoped Sharpay knew better. Because, really, there was no way she was buying any of the bullshit he was selling. The bell echoed across the campus and students pushed themselves up from their desks, ready to go to their last class of the day.

"Finish questions five through fourteen on page 119 for tomorrow. And I don't need to remind you to start studying for the test next Monday. Just because it's before break, does _not_ mean I will make it any easier." Mr. Daniels tried to squeeze everything into one breath before all the students emptied from his classroom.

Troy stood up slowly, flipping his book closed and looking over at Gabriella, who was staring across the room at Sharpay as Jason whispered something in her ear. God, Jason could be such a girl sometimes. Troy swung his textbook and notebook from his left hand as he walked out of the door. He didn't want to go to Chemistry. He wouldn't be able to concentrate, anyway, especially because Nolan sat at the lab table next to his. He'd tolerated it by ignoring his presence, but he wasn't so sure he'd be able to do it anymore. Not with him lurking around corners with Sharpay. He did not approve. Maybe he could get Lily to tell Sharpay she couldn't see him. Maybe she could get him transferred out…

That'd be Plan B.

But he was ready to skip right over Plan A the second he saw Clark and Sharpay walking out into the hallway side by side. They'd situated themselves across the hall from the classroom door and Troy wanted nothing more than to not be jealous. He wasn't this type of guy. There was no reason for him to be jealous. All cockiness put aside, he could have just about any girl he wanted… too bad the only one he wanted was smiling up at his least favorite person. That's when he saw it. Or, _her_. Ryleigh Jasnic. Long russet hair with matching sienna eyes and legs that put Gisele's to shame. One of the few girls who didn't make it past initiation rounds to get into Hale. In September she had taken her post as top of the non-Hale female social tier. And guess who her male counterpart was?

"Ryleigh." Troy called as Ryleigh turned out of her classroom and into the pool of students moving through the hallway. Her brown eyes followed his voice and she raised her hand at him in acknowledgement. He was trying to seem casual as she approached him, when in actuality he was clocking Nolan and Sharpay's movements from his peripherals.

"Hey Troy. I don't know about you, but I'm going to absolutely _ace_ this chem test." Ryleigh's eyebrows rose as she spoke, as if she were actually excited about the formation of polyatomic ions. Troy smirked, "Nerd."

"I prefer scholastically gifted. Nerd is a bit too duck-taped glasses for my taste." Troy could have pointed out the fact that she had switched to contacts immediately upon arrival at Eastwood, but instead he looked over her shoulder as Jason and Gabriella came out of the classroom. Gabriella's eyes first caught Sharpay and Nolan at the other side of the hall, then she turned and saw Troy, raising her brow at Ryleigh's back. He inclined his head slightly and she proceeded to roll her eyes and stride down the opposite end of the hallway, Taylor now at her side. Ryleigh caught the sudden movement and turned to look back. Her forehead formed a question mark as she landed on Nolan and Sharpay. At one point Nolan looked over and met Ryleigh's gaze. He shook his stupid blonde hair out of his eyes and grinned before looking back at Sharpay. "I'm guessing Sharpay did her dirty deed?"

Troy nodded. _Unlike you._ "How'd you know her name? You two have a class?"

Ryleigh shook her head and turned back to Troy with a hint of disappointment in her brown eyes. "No. Some sophomore saw her moving into Hale and in two seconds everyone knew. It's a small school. People talk, you know?"

"Yeah." Troy mumbled, looking across the hall. A few moments passed. And in those moments Nolan smiled twice, used his hands to explain something, and Sharpay laughed three times, almost dropping her notebook on the floor. _Why don't you just marry him, already?_

No. Wait. Don't.

"Anyway, after everything I heard, I would have assumed she was getting close to _you_. Not Nolan."

Troy averted his eyes. "What do you mean_ everything_."

"First, you're seen walking with her into the woods after she gives Jason the business. Kudos to her, b-t-w. Then you walk her home from the gym? To the infirmary the next day? Nolan hasn't even said a word about her."

"I think they met this morning. I saw them in the library."

"You were in the library?" Troy rolled his eyes. "Well, I guess I'll hear about her at dinner."

"Hear about who?"

Troy turned his head and looked right into the pale blue eyes of Satan. Ryleigh ran her fingers through her hair and then looked down at her dark purple painted nails. "New squeeze, Nolan?"

"Who, Sharpay?" Nolan looked over at Troy. "She's a sweetie, don't you think, Bolton? Very southern hospitality."

_I'm going to punch you in the face_. "Mm. She's from Albuquerque, Clark."

"I'm aware of that. We played twenty questions during a study break this morning. I'd like to consider myself well versed on Eastwood's newest Eagle. I can catch you up, if you'd like."

"No need. I know enough."

"Alright, little boys, can we just get to chemistry, please? I'd like to be out of earshot before you start with the my-horse-is-bigger-than-your-horse nonsense." Ryleigh slid between he and Nolan, the heels of her boots clicking against the steps as she skipped down the staircase. Nolan, who had turned to watch Ryleigh walk away, brought his attention back to Troy. Troy stared, un-amused, torn between wanting to shave Nolan's head in his sleep and whacking him in the side of his head with his Euro book. Repeatedly.

"I know what you're trying, Bolton, and it won't work. I'm already a step ahead of you."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Clark."

"Trying to make me jealous by going out of your way to talk to my on and off girlfriend? Step your game up, I don't get jealous."

"Once again. No idea."

Nolan studied Troy's face carefully, his eyes searching for a sign that Troy was lying as Sharpay had tried to do this morning. Luckily he had the skill of masking down to an art. Finally, Nolan's face relaxed and he shrugged his shoulder, switching his Euro books from one hand to the other. "Well then, I guess you won't mind that I'm giving a Town Pass to Sharpay and inviting her to dinner Friday night."

Troy gritted his teeth together as he started walking. "Not at all."

/

"What, you didn't hear him?"

"No. I didn't even know they knew each other until about five hours ago."

"He walked her home from the fitness center. We walked right past them, I really don't see how you didn't hear."

"I ignore Blondie as much as possible. I don't go out of my way to hone in on her conversations. Especially when it's with someone of Nolan's stature."

"Nolan's hot. But whatever." Kelsi rolled her eyes as she sat down at the lunch table, dropping her tray of grilled chicken and brown rice in front of her. Ryan cleared his throat, looking away from Zeke, whom he was chatting with across the table, and in his girlfriend's direction. Kelsi smiled and smoothed a hand over his thigh- a motion Gabriella could have gone without seeing. "Babe, you're hotter."

Ryan smirked and shook his head, going right back to his conversation. Kelsi rolled her eyes and picked up her plastic fork. "Egos." Gabriella leaned back in her chair, unscrewing the cap of her bottle of iced tea. She scanned the table briefly; no one had joined the table in her absence. Troy and Jason were still missing. Along with Martha and Sharpay. And as long as Sharpay wasn't out with Troy, she was fine with it. "Did he mention where he was taking her?"

"I don't think so. Probably La Famille or Il Sogno or somewhere equally overrated."

Gabriella nodded. Honestly? She liked being treated to dinner by boys. The last time she'd been taken out was August, back home in Virginia, with some boy whose name she couldn't remember now. He'd taken her to the small bistro in town and they'd shared crème brûlée for dessert. It was sweet. Of course, she wished it had been Troy. He was all the dessert she needed. While dreaming, she hadn't even noticed Troy and Jason mosey up the table; Troy's hair was only towel dried from what Gabriella assumed to be a post-gym shower, and small drops of water were falling from the tips of his shaggy hair to the shoulders of his t-shirt. She took a second to make out what appeared to be a suit-wearing scuba diver on the white fabric. The words 'deep class' were written in clear black print underneath. Gabriella smiled at the pun and leaned forward, placing her bottle next to her tray. "What ever happened to no white after Labor Day?"

Troy raised an eyebrow, his more-turquoise eye twinkling. "What ever happened to 'carbs are the enemy'?"

Gabriella narrowed her eyes and looked down at her brown rice and vegetables. Did Troy think she was fat? She looked back up, hoping her face wasn't drowned in disgust. "I-"

"I'm kidding. You're beautiful. Eat on." He clapped a comforting hand on her shoulder blade as he and Jason went over to the lunch line. Goosebumps rose as she picked up her fork and moved her food around on her plate. _You're beautiful_.

Her happy thoughts were disturbed by the sound of Sharpay's laugh. She smirked to herself. What did Blondie have to be happy about? Troy didn't just call _her_ beautiful. She looked over and saw Sharpay walking in a small pack of Martha, Lily, and James. Gabriella rolled her eyes and picked up her plasti-knife to cut a sliver of her chicken. Well, she was just friends with _everyone_ wasn't she? She was still in her state of Troy bliss when she noticed what Sharpay had chosen to wear to dinner: an admittedly cute pair of suede flats, some light wash jeans, and a grey sweatshirt. A grey Diesel sweatshirt. _Troy's_ grey Diesel sweatshirt. Gabriella's eyes instantly narrowed as she and Martha breezed past her for the lunch line.

What. The. Fuck.

/

"Oh, I _love_ the grilled chicken. I look forward to this every month."

Sharpay laughed as she pulled a plate onto her tray. She grabbed the large metal spoon set aside for the sides and scooped herself some mixed vegetables. "You sound like a boy."

"I have four brothers. I guess this behavior's sort of embedded into me."

"At least you have the metabolism to support yourself, Tiny Tim." Jason smirked, tapping the top of Martha's head. Sharpay looked up, she hadn't even noticed Jason standing in the line, scanning over the beverage bottles before pulling out a Smart Water.

"I'd rather be short and skinny than tall and fat." Martha snipped, grabbing a bag of Baked Doritos and tossing it onto her tray. "Because that's exactly what you'll be once your teenage glory years run out and you can't quit your carbicide rituals."

Sharpay looked down at Jason's tray. Martha was right. He looked like he was about to feed a small army. She met Jason's gaze, he stared at her while he addressed Martha. "I'm a growing boy, I need my fuel."

"Jason."

"Blondie."

"No hard feelings?"

"No, I think we're even. But slap me again and we might have a problem."

Sharpay shook her head at Jason's expression, reaching to grab a water bottle once he and Martha had moved out of the way. What did he mean _even? _As she was about to pick one up, she grazed knuckles with another hand reaching in the same direction. "Oh, I'm-" "My bad-"

That voice. That warm skin. That tingle she felt when they made contact.

"Troy."

Troy picked the bottle up, casually scanning over her in the way that made her entire body heat up. A smile played on his lips as he held the Smart Water out to her. "Nice sweatshirt."

Sharpay looked down at what she had thrown on over her black, long-sleeved thermal. She hadn't even realized. A blush filled her cheeks as she looked back up at him, reaching hesitantly for the bottle of water. She pulled it towards her and let it rest on its side atop her tray. "Thanks. It used to be some guy's. He said it looked better on me."

Troy nodded and picked up his tray. "Smart guy."

Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek, unable to keep herself from grinning. She felt a hand on her back and looked over her shoulder and into the dark blue shirt covering Nolan's torso. She looked up, his eyes seeming brighter against the shirt. "Hi."

"I think your sweatshirt's a little big, don't you?" She moved to the side so that he could grab a Vitamin Water. She looked over at Troy, whose head was rolled back so he was looking at the ceiling. Sharpay was really starting to wonder what it was about Nolan that was so annoying. He brought his head back upright and looked over to her. Sharpay blinked, feeling slightly awkward in her position between the two of them. "I think it's fine. Warm. Comfy. _Nice_."

She could tell Troy was trying to fight the smile tugging at the corner of his lip. Nolan shrugged and grabbed a bag of white cheddar popcorn. "Not dissing. Just saying. Most girls in your dorm wouldn't be caught wearing it in public." He turned to her and looked the rest of her outfit up and down like Troy had. Flashing her a white chiclet smile. "But then, you're not like those girls are you?"

Sharpay shifted on her feet uncomfortably. "Is that a bad thing?"

"It's whatever you want it to be." He looked over at Troy and nodded. "What's going on, Bolton? Hear you and Ry are going out Friday night."

"You're what?"

/

Troy stiffened and looked away from Nolan and at Sharpay. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes that he could tell she was trying to hide. No. He wasn't trying to make her upset. He was just trying to get Nolan pissed off. That's the only reason he forced himself to ask Ryleigh to dinner on Friday. He didn't want her to be with Nolan on her own so far away from where he could help her if something went wrong. Sure, she was exceptionally good-looking, but he didn't think of her like that. They'd been friends since freshman year.

"I wonder where you got the idea."

Nolan looked at Sharpay, who now seemed fixated on the vegetables on her plate. Troy felt about seven of the butterflies in his stomach die just by looking at the mixture of hurt and confusion on her forehead. "We hadn't hung out in a while. Figured it'd be nice to get out."

"That's nice. Any idea where you're taking her?"

"Wherever she wants, I guess."

"Very chivalrous of you. Sharpay, where would _you_ like to go for dinner?"

"I'm sure she'll like wherever you take her." Lily placed a hand on Sharpay's shoulder, a plate of salad on her tray in the other. She smiled. "Nolan, I'm going to have to steal these two away from you."

Troy took in a deep breath. _Thank God_. He couldn't take one more syllable of Nolan's stupid voice. He followed Lily and Sharpay back to the table, where they deposited their trays. She led the two of them out the front door of the cafeteria and down the steps and straight out towards one of the half-bare trees in the quad. It wasn't until they got closer that Troy saw James, Kelsi, Jason, and Gabriella standing amongst the fallen leaves that the Grounds Keeper had yet to rake up. He saw Sharpay pull her hands into the sweatshirt and tuck them into her pockets as a cold breeze rushed through the air, making Troy wish he wasn't only wearing a short sleeve t-shirt.

"Couldn't we hold this conversation somewhere heated?" James, who had also only chosen to wear short sleeves, said aloud, leaning his back against the tree.

"Maybe you should embrace the fall Connecticut air in something more than an Alex & Chloe crewneck."

"Maybe _you_ should embrace the technological advances of _heated common rooms_."

"No co-mingling in the dorms, remember?" James rolled his eyes. "Out of all the rules we break, we're choosing to obey that one?"

"_Anyway," _Lily grinned, turning back to the juniors in front of her. "Do you five think you can break rules and we won't notice?"

Troy folded his arms. _Oh shit, this won't be good_.

"I'll list the allegations in chronological order, hm? Kelsi." Lily turned and Kelsi raised an eyebrow, sliding her phone into the pocket of her baggy sweater. "You raised the volume on Sharpay's phone." Kelsi's green eyes widened significantly. "Bringing me to the next offense… Gabriella." Troy shook his head as Gabriella folded her arms across her chest. "You called Max and told him to check the admissions office."

"I-"

"Pretended to be Kathi?" Lily finished as a confused and guilty expression crossed Gabriella's face. "Our bathroom is _connected_ Gabriella. I can hear you through the wall when you're in your room."

Troy froze when James and Lily's eyes both landed on him. "You two spoke to each other." He looked over at Sharpay, who turned her head slightly to look up at him. They'd spoken one sentence. And it hadn't even been interesting. He'd told her to watch out and she'd said thank you. Were they really going to be punished for that? "Do you remember when I said _automatic out_, Sharpay?"

He watched as Sharpay's jaw dropped slightly. No way they were kicking her out. No way. "Yes."

"I wasn't joking."

"I know." She said meekly. "I just… I said thank you. I didn't think it counted."

"That's no excuse. Lucky for you, higher powers have for whatever reason decided to overlook the mishap."

"Was it because I didn't open the file?" Troy looked back and forth between the two of them and then at James. File? What file? "Because I didn't. I read what was underneath the picture, but that's it. I promise"

"We know." Lily softened slightly. "I guess that extraordinary example of will power counteracts your burdening need to thank your savior. Anyone else in your position would have read it. Hell, I probably would have. Who wouldn't be curious about the girl who disappeared?"

Sharpay smiled and Troy swallowed the curiosity in his throat. Tiara. They were talking about Tiara. She'd had to steal her student file. The file that contained the information of where Tiara was. Oh, what he would give to- _no_. Stop it Troy. She's gone. She left you. It's over.

"And you're off the hook too, Bolton." Troy turned towards James. "Telling the girl to watch out isn't much of an offense in my book. Calling the dorm advisor, however…"

Troy blinked. "I didn't-"

"Not you. Cross."

"It was _you_ on the phone." Sharpay spoke as if she had just discovered a great mystery. She stared at Jason. "I was _in the room_, Jason. She was three feet away from me. If she hadn't been so tired she would have-"

"Can someone here please give me some sort of insight as to why everyone is out to get Sharpay?" Lily asked.

Jason raised his hand in the air without hesitation. "She robbed me of my dignity."

/

"Two days ago, Jason. It was a slap. I'm sure I'm not the first girl to ever slap you." Sharpay rolled her eyes incredulously. This was useless. She knew why none of them liked her. Jason couldn't stand to be upstaged. Gabriella couldn't stand that she was getting close to Troy. And Kelsi… well she guessed that Kelsi either did whatever Gabriella told her to or was an avid TiaraTroy shipper.

"The first girl to ever do it in front of a crowd."

"Your ego is more than big enough to sustain itself, don't worry."

"Is that it? You guys had her spend a night in the woods because she smacked Jason?"

"I still can't believe you _told_ her." Kelsi hissed, looking past Jason to stare at Troy.

"Troy didn't say anything. I saw you the morning after. It wasn't a life size puzzle to put together."

"Lily, she's trying to be Tiara. Troy's acting like she never existed. She was one of my best friends, I'm not letting her go down like that. And if anyone's going to take her place, it's not going to be Miss Nobody from New Mexico."

"Who's it going to be, Nielsen? You?" Lily lowered her voice and took a step into the rough, makeshift circle they'd been standing in. "Tiara Gold left. She had the choice to come back to school- but look around, do you see her anywhere? She made her choice."

"You know why she's not here, don't you? Where she is?"

Sharpay looked up at Troy next to her, saw the way he was staring at Lily, and she knew. She knew that Troy wasn't over Tiara yet. He could kiss her, he could give her his sweatshirt and pull her into dark, conference rooms, but he still had feelings for her. And Sharpay couldn't change that. Lily turned, straightening her posture. "Of course I do. What part of _I know everything _does no one seem to understand?"

"And what, you don't think that information is important to share with any of us? With Troy?" Gabriella chided. Sharpay looked around. Why was she always finding herself in conversations that had to do with Tiara? She couldn't contribute to them. She had no opinion. No say. When it came to Tiara she was just a useless body amidst the conversation. She just wished that Troy would blink, and stop making her feel like just that. Useless. In these moments, it was like no one knew she was alive

"If she wanted you all to know, she would have told you." Lily reasoned.

"I highly-"

_MY MILKSHAKE BRINGS ALL THE BOYS TO THE YARD_

Sharpay pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked down at the picture of Jimmie on the screen. She looked up to see everyone staring at her. Troy even broke out of his trance and looked over at her. _Oops._

Well… at least they knew she was alive.

She brought the phone to her ear as Jason started laughing. Probably at her ring tone. She didn't blame him. "Hey, Jimmie." She looked at Lily, then at Troy. Both of their blue eyes seemed to stand out at that moment. She swallowed her distress over Troy as she listened to Jimmie's voice through the phone. "No, actually. Now's a great time."

/

Troy watched Sharpay walk back towards the cafeteria. "Who's Jimmie?" Jason said once he'd finished laughing.

"Zara. Her best friend. Might have even been dating. Basketball player. Admittedly, cute. About James' height."

Wait- _what_?

Troy's eyes shifted to Lily. "How the hell?"

"He was in Sharpay's file." Sharpay's file. Not meaning her Eastwood student file. Meaning her Hale Hall file. The file that said what her transcripts didn't. Parent's income. List of friends. Even emails from her contact list. Hale and Stuart graduates have gone on to work for some extremely prominent people- as have graduates from the two surrounding boarding schools with similar houses- where they themselves become prominent in the industry. Banking, government, law, health care- they were everywhere. And they had the means to get their hands on important, and not so important, information. This information is then passed down to the heads of the house- currently James and Lily- so that they can be screened. James had explained all of this to him just a few weeks ago, saying that he would probably be the one succeeding him next year. He often wondered what was in his own file. But right now, he was dying to find out what it was about Jimmie that was in Sharpay's.

"They sent us a file on him. Is he transferring or something?"

Troy managed to keep a straight face even though his eyes were begging to bulge out of his head. No. Jimmie couldn't come here. Nolan was enough. Lily waved her hand in the air. "Probably just excess on Sharpay. In case he comes and visits or something and we need the information."

Blackmail. Hale's favorite form of communication.

"Whatever. Are we done putting the babies in the corner? I'm famished."

"Sure. We'll come up with punishments later."

Sharpay came back to the cafeteria fifteen minutes later. She squeezed into her seat between Martha and Troy, pushing her tray of now cold food away from her. "I didn't know we couldn't have phone's on campus." She said, pulling her water bottle towards her.

"Did you get yelled at for talking to Josh?" Troy asked, half mumbling as he shoved a Dorito into his mouth.

Sharpay held her bottle a few inches from her lips, turning to look at him. "Jimmie."

Potato, _potato. _"Right. Jimmie. Sorry."

Sharpay stared a second longer than necessary and took a sip of water. "And yes. Mr. King, I think, said he'd confiscate it next time."

"He's a new teacher this year." Troy looked across the table at Taylor, whose chair was next to Ryan's. She had a thick, white book in her hands, which she continued to read, even though she was addressing Sharpay. "No one's probably told him yet."

"Told him what?"

"That we're exempt from the rules." Kelsi answered smoothly, her point being proven as she texted away on her phone. "Teachers aren't supposed to bug us."

Troy leaned back in his chair, watching as Sharpay attempted to soak everything in. It was nice seeing her wearing his sweatshirt. Tiara had never been that kind of girlfriend. She had a very firm belief on girls strictly wearing clothes made for their gender. She thought it was cheesy, so Troy hadn't pushed it. But this was a pleasant change. He could get used to this. "So Sharpay, I hear you have a date Friday night."

Of course. They would. They _would_ start talking about Nolan just as he was starting to enjoy himself.

Gabriella was leaning her elbows on the table. And Troy wondered if the curiosity in her voice was real or fake. "With Nolan Clark?"

/

"Sure, Mexico. Turn me down but go out with Clark. That makes _total_ sense."

"Cross. Shh." Gabriella said across the table.

"What do you mean?" Sharpay asked, looking down towards Jason.

"I mean the guy's-"

"Jason." Gabriella cut him off. Kelsi looked up from her phone and Ryan gave her a confused look. Jason raised an eyebrow and Sharpay looked back at Troy. They really needed to stop looking at each other. And Troy really needed to not like her. And Sharpay really needed to take off Troy's sweatshirt.

And Gabriella really needed to take it down a notch.

"He's cute. I think he and Sharpay would look nice together."

"I don't." Troy mumbled, biting into three chips at once. If he weren't so cute, she'd have been furious. She settled for shooting him a look. "What? Gabriella, your stares don't work on me. If I want to say Nolan's a douche, I'll say it. Do I need to remind everyone?"

Gabriella looked up, digging her manicure into her palm as she looked over at Kelsi. She swiveled her SideKick shut and set it on the table in front of her. "He chases skirts. So what, Troy. So does your best friend."

"His best friend doesn't steal girls from other guys, Kels." Ryan corrected.

"I obey the code." Jason toasted, lifting his bottle in the air before taking a swig.

"What about Alessandra DeMarco? Sophomore year." Martha tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "She had a boyfriend."

Jason swallowed the water in his mouth and shook his head. "She was Brazilian. Doesn't count when they're foreign."

"Nevertheless, I don't understand why I'm the only one who… _dislikes_ him. Honestly."

"Because none of us were actually romantically tied to the girls while Nolan was stealing them." Ryan reasoned, leaning back in his chair and looking towards Kelsi. "Really, I don't see how you hooked up with him, he's so dirty."

"Have you _seen_ his arms?" Kelsi asked, turning her head. When Ryan rolled his eyes she turned to Gabriella. "You were with him, you know."

"It's like being in the arms of a god, Troy." Gabriella nodded in his direction before looking at Sharpay, trying to put on a next-to-genuine smile. "Check them out next time you get the chance."

"Will you two stop putting ideas in her head?" Troy interrupted, staring at Kelsi. Gabriella bit the corner of her lip as his eyes landed scoldingly on her. "He'll hurt her."

_We can't have our precious Sharpay's heart hurting, now can we? Really, Troy, unless your cute protective behavior is being played in my favor, I don't want to hear it._ "She needs to learn that lesson on her own. If she wants to go on a date with him after hearing all of this, it's her choice. You can't make it for her."

This seemed to silence Troy. Which meant that he knew that she was right and he wasn't going to challenge her. Gabriella smiled softly. _Don't worry, Troy._

_I'm here for you_.

/

Gabriella's words were ringing through her ears. So were Troy's. And Ryan's. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. Nolan seemed nice enough. Maybe she was just being naïve, but she guessed she'd just have to find out on Friday night. She looked at her small alarm clock on the bedside table. 1:34 AM. She rolled over onto her back and pulled her comforter up to her chin. Was it possible that she was ever going to be able to get a good night's sleep at this school? Her guess was no. Just as she threw her arms over her eyes her phone vibrated loudly against the table. She reached to grab it quickly. It was probably Jimmie again, forgetting the time difference, to wish her a good night. She sat up slowly, staring across the dark room at Gabriella's unmoving body in the bed across the room. If that had woken her up, it wasn't showing. She didn't even shuffle. Thank god. If Gabriella hated her when she was fully awake, she didn't want to imagine what she was like when she got woken up in the middle of the night.

She read the text, sent from an unknown contact_: Awake?_

Another text popped up just as she was about to ask who it was: _If you weren't five minutes ago, I know you are now. Meet me outside._

Sharpay stared at the bright screen, her eyes still unadjusted. _I don't go outside in the middle of the night to talk to strangers. Sorry._

Eleven seconds later another text bubble popped up. _Good thing I'm not a stranger._

And with that text Sharpay knew exactly who it was. Her mind shot back to her memories of Troy at the lake. Their talk about being strangers. And then Sharpay realized she had never asked for Troy's number. So how did he get hers? She pushed off her covers and slid her side of the closet open as quietly as she could, pulling out the first pair of Uggs she could find and stuffing her feet into them, using the light of her iPhone as a guide. Brown Uggs, bright plaid yellow flannel pants…

Yeah, that worked.

She padded over to her desk and picked up her ID. The last thing she needed was to get locked out of the dorm. Still in her black thermal from dinner, she didn't bother to put a sweatshirt on, and instead tiptoed her way down the stairs as limber and intrigued as a person could be for that hour of the night. Sharpay felt like it was still last night, and she was still sneaking around. Except this time it wasn't to retrieve a confidential file. Actually, Sharpay wasn't even sure why she was being so stealth. She'd probably get a text from Lily in two minutes telling her she knew where she was, who she was with, and to get back into her room.

Sharpay tried to slide through the front door by opening it the least amount possibly needed. She cringed as she heard it click closed behind her- paranoid, once again. The staircase in front of her was dimly lit by the light atop the sign that 'Hale Hall' and the old lampposts that lined the path around campus but she could easily make out Troy's body sitting on one of the steps. Sharpay only needed to take six steps to reach him, and when she did she sat down, pulling her knees towards her for warmth. "You could've been caught coming over here."

"By who?" He asked whimsically, looking across the dark, empty campus grounds. "All the students?"

Sharpay was thankful that it was as dark as it was. Otherwise Troy would probably have seen the grin on her lips. She took a slow breath and blew it out quietly to make it go away. "So is there a reason for this post-midnight rendezvous?"

"Couldn't sleep." He answered, still staring across the campus.

"I figured as much." Sharpay stared at Troy's profile, her eyes drifting down to his bare arms- he was still wearing his shirt from dinner as well. Was he crazy? Did he want frostbite? "Aren't you cold?"

Troy shrugged. "I'm alright."

"Says the boy with goose bumps down his arms." After a moment of hesitation Sharpay slid closer to Troy, cautiously wrapping her left arm around Troy's right, rubbing it with her palm, trying to create some friction. "I can feel your skin through my shirt." She mumbled. She hadn't paid much attention to Nolan's arms… but Troy's were _definitely_ of the gods.

For the first time since she'd sat down, Troy turned towards her. In the dark of the night his eyes almost matched. "You're still going out with Nolan, aren't you?" Sharpay blinked and looked down at Troy's arm, watching her hand's steady pace of smoothing it over. "Why?"

"Because he hasn't exhibited any of the behavior you've accused him of. He hasn't hurt me-"

"Yet."

Sharpay looked up, not used to being so close to Troy. "He's really under your skin, huh?"

"Guys like him don't change. Not for real, anyway. I just-" Troy looked down and Sharpay stopped rubbing his arm. "I'd really rather not cause a scene by punching him when he hurts you."

"Then don't punch him," she smiled.

"It's been a long time coming. No promises." He mumbled, looking back at her. Sharpay looked back into his eyes, praying to God that she remembered to brush her teeth before she went- or tried- to sleep. She wasn't sure what Troy was thinking, whether or not the same thoughts were going through his mind that were racing through her own. She could get a pretty good idea though, watching his eyes drift down towards the southern regions of her face every few seconds. Sharpay could feel her breathing get shallow as Troy lifted his other hand towards her face, his cold fingertips brushing across her face as he tucked her hair behind her ear. Sharpay didn't even notice. To her, it felt like his skin was leaving a blazing a trail of heat wherever it touched. She felt her eyelids drift shut slowly, unsure of what was coming next. That's when Troy whispered, "Sweet dreams, Sharpay."

Sharpay's eyes shot open and she stood up so fast that Troy had barely even gotten the chance to take two steps. "_Sweet dreams?_"

NUH UH, I DON'T THINK SO.

Troy turned around. Another stupid, irresistible smirk formed on his face. "Sorry." He said in a low voice, taking a step back in her direction. _That's right you're sorry. You come back here and finish what you started_. Sharpay swallowed whatever was choking her up, falling into a state of complete bliss when Troy's hand touched her arm and his face inched slowly towards hers, her lips finally meeting his after a torturous second. She could practically hear the Hallelujah chorus. Being given the opportunity to kiss Troy's absolutely delectable lips a total of three times may not have sounded like a lot- but what he lacked in quantity he made up for in exhibition. That's why it was so sad to have him pull away. "Good night."

"Good night," she managed to mumble, as he backed down the stairs. Sharpay bit her bottom lip as Troy's silhouette disappeared across the quad. _You. Have no. Idea._


	16. The Wow Factor

"What about this?"

Sharpay looked up from her spot on the wood-finished floor in front of the open closet. Martha was standing at the edge of her bed, half helping her finally unpack, half helping her find something to wear for her date with Nolan. Her brown eyes scanned over the Gryphon Gold Sparkle dress she was holding up to her and she shook her head. "That's more of a party dress. Or at the very least, a fourth date."

Martha let out a giggle while slipping the dress onto a hanger. "You'd probably freeze your ass off, too. Because I don't see anything in here to match all these sequins."

Sharpay smiled as Martha lifted a cranberry Alice & Olivia from her suitcase, admiring the glistening sequins. "My sweaters and stuff are probably in the other bag."

"Along with a suitable dress to wear with Nolan to Il Sogno? Really, haven't you ever heard of a Little Black- A hah!" Martha pulled a black tunic into the air, her victorious smile fading once she saw what it was she had picked out. "Or not."

Sharpay pushed herself up from the floor and grabbed the pile of clothes Martha had taken out by their hangers. She hung them on the free space Gabriella's clothes weren't taking up. She pushed her hand at the thick row of Diane von Furstenberg and SoCa St. John in an attempt to create more space. "What is Il Sogno, anyway?"

"Some shi-shi Italian place in town. It's very this-" Martha held up a Rory Beca dress, a sleeveless beige-y peach fold dress. It was simple and tasteful at the same time despite its length. "-as opposed to _this_." She held up her Elizabeth and James piecework dress, a favorite she had brought from home.

Sharpay grabbed the two hanger-ed dresses from her friend's hands and put them into the closet. "This is hopeless. We're never going to find something. This place isn't my style."

"Sharpay, you're in Hale. _Make_ the place your style. Or better yet…"

Sharpay looked mystified at Martha as she trailed off. Her hazel eyes seemed distant, like she was devising some grand scheme in her own mind. "'Better yet' what?"

Martha snapped back to focus, a mischievous grin on her face. "Nolan's known for the booty call."

"So I've been told. Multiple times."

"Well, do you want to find out if he _actually_ likes you?"

Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek. She wanted _Troy_ to like her. Not that Nolan wasn't sweet, funny, and… well… hot… but he wasn't Troy. He didn't give her that feeling in her stomach Troy did. She couldn't imagine sitting with him in front of a lake or warming him up in the middle of the night. But what if, by chance, Troy and what's-her-face were at the same restaurant tonight? What if the plan to find out if Nolan liked her worked the same on Troy? Sharpay thought it all over for a few more seconds before nodding and allowing Martha to drag her out of the dorm room.

/

Troy leaned back against the trunk of his car, watching a few other students make their way through the student parking lot. It was a sea of Range Rovers and BMWs. His car, and the rest of Stuart and Hale's, compared to theirs was like finding a diamond amongst sapphires. Normally quiet about the wealth behind his family's name, his dark grey Maserati GranTourismo S Automatic practically shouted 'I'm one of the richest kids at this school!' To the right of his own, Jason's black Escalade Premium sat; probably holding kegs for tomorrow night. And to the right was one of the only other cars in the lot to trump Troy's- James' prize Aston Martin DBS. Troy rolled his black plaid shirt up to his elbows and looked at the car parked directly across from his own. Nolan Clark's stupid silver Audi A5. If he were pretentious, he'd walk right up to him while he was with Sharpay and say, 'Guess what, Clark? If you sold three of your car, you still wouldn't be able to buy mine.'

"I thought you had a date, Bolton. I didn't realize it was with the parking lot."

Troy turned his head and saw Nolan striding across the parking lot in his direction, his keys swinging around his finger, a stupid jerk-tastic grin on his face, with no Sharpay in sight. "She's meeting me here. What happened to yours?"

Nolan's pale blue eyes flickered over Troy's shoulder, taking in his car. Troy smirked. _That's right, soak it in._ "When I went to pick her up Martha said she wasn't done with her. Told me to wait down here for her because it might be a while."

"I don't see why. She looked fine at school today." That she did. It was some sort of long, flowy, dark purple shirt that she wore over a pair of black stockings. He could barely focus in French because he kept looking up and seeing her legs. Luckily he sat in front of her in Lit so for those mere 75 minutes he could focus. "Where are you taking her?" Troy asked, trying to sound as uninterested as possible- which was hard, because he had been wondering since Wednesday.

"Il Sogno. You and Ry?"

"Il Sogno." Troy deadpanned. On the outside he seemed bothered. Inside, the butterflies were doing their victory dances.

"Don't sound too excited. You might hyperventilate."

"I don't enjoy being near you when I don't have to, that's all."

Nolan played with the keys in his hand, examining Troy's face. "You really are a grudge holder, aren't you? It was _freshman year_."

"We were _together_." Troy stared, ignoring how Nolan's blue shirt made his eyes annoyingly brighter.

He lifted a finger. "Now, you see, that's where you're wrong, Bolton. If I remember correctly, which I know I do, you and Tiara became an official couple just before Halloween. Right?" Troy blinked. _Fuck you_. Nolan smirked. "So you see? I shot for the Tiara target during September. It doesn't matter if you asked her out to dinner first. She was fair game."

"That may have been true, had you not tried to _shoot_ every time I was _with her_."

"Well you two were always together. How the fuck else was I supposed to-"

"Look who I found coming out of Hale all by her lonesome."

Troy and Nolan broke their glares and turned towards the sound of Ryleigh's voice. The first thing he saw was two pairs of legs. Long. Lean. Legs. The guy inside of him followed the first pair up- black heels, legs, legs, legs, legs, grey dress, open black blazer, too many layers of necklaces, and Ryleigh's face. It was signature Ryleigh Jasnic. She couldn't do anything without showing off her model-esque legs. Not that any male passerby minded. At her right was Sharpay, her wavy blonde hair falling over an ashy leather jacket that covered a black dress and-

Massive pulmonary embolism.

Had Ryleigh dressed Sharpay for her date? The amount of leg being shown definitely would lead a person to believe so. It was like they were approaching in slow motion- a scene in a movie- and Party Like A Rockstar or This Is Why I'm Hot was playing in the background. Troy had gone so long without blinking his eyes had turned into the Sahara. He forced himself to look in Nolan's direction and bat his eyes until he regained focus. Nolan's jaw was practically on the ground. At least Troy had the decency to keep his hormones to himself. But trust him, it was hard. AP Physics hard.

Ryleigh ran her fingers through her straightened russet hair as she got closer. "Aw. Remember when you guys used to look at me like that? What happened?"

"When you show that much skin every day for two years, it sort of loses the wow-factor." Nolan managed to get out, breaking his trance as he looked over at his every-other-week girlfriend.

Not for Sharpay. She'd never lose the wow-factor. He looked back over at her and caught her glancing in his direction. Troy stared back into her eyes, encircled in smoky black eyeliner. "You clean up pretty well."

Sharpay looked down at herself as if she disagreed. "It's Kelsi's dress. Martha said I should wear it. It's not really… I mean it's…" She pulled at the hem of the dress self consciously before looking back up at him

"It's very… uh… nice."

Nice (adj) : Tight, mini, and inappropriate.

Sharpay blushed and looked over at her date. Troy grimaced. Ugh, _date_. "Thanks, Nolan."

"Shall we?" Nolan grinned, suddenly regaining his composure as he carefully led Sharpay by the lower back. Troy narrowed his eyes slightly when he looked back him. "See you guys later."

Troy gripped his keys in his fist. That's it. He was _so _bribing the host to get a table next to theirs. He needed to know what the conversation was between them by casually eavesdropping on their conversation. Purely for Sharpay's protection…

He shook himself back to the present and looked at Ryleigh, who seemed to be staring at Sharpay's back. Troy recognized the look from Gabriella. It was the look girls gave each other when the other wasn't looking in an attempt to size them up. He resisted the urge to turn and watch Nolan helping Sharpay into the passenger seat of his stupid forty thousand dollar dad's car when Ryleigh looked back at him. Something in her sienna eyes seemed distant. Troy smiled, he knew the feeling. "Come on, Jasnic, let's go show you off."

/

You know the feeling you get when someone is watching you? When you can feel a pair of eyes practically burning into your skin? Well Sharpay was feeling that at the front desk of Il Sogno. Except it wasn't one pair of eyes- it was fifty. At least. Men in their dress shirts sat and creepily admired her legs while their wives sat and clucked their pretentious tongues, probably wondering what a girl doing dressed like that would be doing in a place like this. Sharpay was starting to wonder the exact same thing. Martha's plan was to measure the amount of embarrassment in Nolan. See if he could enjoy himself and ignore all the stares from the middle-aged diners around them. So far he seemed to be having a difficult time with it, something Sharpay could tell easily. His averting gaze was a tell-all as he approached the host. In the drive to town they'd managed to hold a conversation about their favorite foods, but every so often he would look over at Sharpay and she would notice his hand grip tighter around the steering wheel. Sharpay wasn't used to being stared at and Nolan's bipolar attitude about her dress wasn't helping her relax. She just wanted to sit down in the dimly lit restaurant and cover her legs with her napkin.

"Signora?" Sharpay blinked her Chantecaille- lined eyes over at the man standing next to Nolan, he held two menus gingerly near his chest. Nolan took a step towards Sharpay and held a hand out towards her. "You alright?"

Sharpay nodded and walked towards him. A piece of blonde hair fell over his right eye, covering the blue. He placed a hand in the middle of her back, leaning towards her as the followed the host weaving through white-clothed tables. "Ignore the observers, they're just jealous they can't show this much leg anymore."

It was supportive. In a weird way. And Sharpay smiled as the host ushered her into her seat. Their table was situated next to the open kitchen. She was facing away from the view of the working chefs but the smell of basil and peppers overpowered her. The host placed a menu in front of her as Sharpay regretfully slid the leather from her shoulders and over the back of her chair. If the flames from the kitchen and the warmth of the restaurant itself weren't mixing together in an uncomfortable manner, she definitely would have kept it on. She wondered how Nolan managed to stay comfortable in his long sleeved navy oxford. A waiter appeared in seconds, placing two glasses of water in front of them. Sharpay watched as he pushed some of his dark hair away from his tanned face. "Buonosera, buonosera. Come va stasera?"

Uh… what?

"Molto buono, grazie." Sharpay looked over at Nolan. Hot and Italian speaking. If she didn't _like_ _him_ like him five minutes ago she was definitely getting close. The Italian asked something else in French and Nolan replied with "Coke, please. Sharpay?"

Sharpay looked at the water in front of her and then stared stupidly up at the waiter. "Water's fine, thank you." He nodded and walked straight over to another table. She looked over into Nolan's eyes, darkened from the dim lighting. "You speak Italian? I thought you took Latin."

Nolan grinned and cupped his hand around the cold glass of water. "Only a few phrases. I've just been here so many times I've memorized responses to each of the waiter's questions. They're unsurprisingly similar every time."

As he raised the glass to his lips her gaze trailed over his shoulder, through the sea of tables, and to the host's desk at the front of the restaurant. Or rather, who was walking through the front doors. Ryleigh, pushing her brown hair over her shoulder and looking back at Troy. Her mouth moved as she explained something to Troy, at which he found it necessary to laugh. Or smile broadly. Sharpay couldn't tell from this far away. "Do a lot of people from Eastwood come here?"

"It's a common date haven. Not much of a variety in a little Connecticut town, you know?"

Sharpay nodded, turning back to the boy across from her. _No, not really_. "It's cute. The town, I mean."

"Most of the people who live here commute to larger cities for work. Even Boston and Manhattan. They spend so many hours a day crowded around people that they like coming home to wide lawns and empty streets. It's like living in Jersey and going to Manhattan for work."

"You live in New Jersey?"

Nolan laughed. "God, no. Manhattan."

Sharpay's eyes flickered back over to the host, but Troy and Ryleigh were gone. She felt stupid. Troy was on a date with someone else. Their kisses meant nothing. She was with Nolan right now. She needed to stop being rude and focus on him. "Me too."

"Oh, really?" Sharpay smiled at Nolan's enthusiasm. Troy was wrong. They were all wrong. He wasn't going to hurt her. "Which part?"

"I just know our apartment complex is called The Bristol." Nolan choked on his water and Sharpay leaned forward. "Oh my god… are you alright?" _Please be okay, I never learned the Heimlich._ He set his glass down and coughed a few times before nodding. "Yeah, fine. Bristol, you said?"

Oh god, what? Was The Bristol some rat-infested complex? Had it been on the news? Could she never bring a friend home? Did her mom know? Did her company purposely stick her into a shafty building? "Yes?"

"What floor?

"Twenty… something. Twenty-three, I think."

"No shit." Sharpay let out a laugh, nervously glancing at the table to her right. Some fifty-something woman shook her head with distaste. "I live there. Twenty sixth floor."

"No way." Sharpay's eyes went wide and Nolan laughed. "Go figure."

/

Troy could clearly see three things from his chair: Ryleigh, the kitchen, and Sharpay. She and Nolan were leaning towards each other and she had an excited grin on her face. What could be so thrilling? Did he tell her he was going to wait until the _second_ date to jump her? Either way, neither of them had noticed that he and Ryleigh had been seated at the table adjacent to theirs. The only thing separating he and Sharpay was three feet of open space- and he hadn't even had to bribe the host. Despite the proximity, he couldn't make out their conversation between the noise of the kitchen, the background Italian melody, and the other tables. His view of Sharpay was blocked when a waiter stopped to drop off a drink and take their order. Troy turned back to Ryleigh, who was shrugging off her blazer, the long gold chains around her neck banging against each other. Her grey dress had long sleeves and hugged her body in a non-distracting way. Well, to Troy it was non-distracting. To anyone else, it could have easily been. Ryleigh took a sip of her water, nonchalantly glancing at Sharpay's table. From her position, she could probably see Nolan just as well as he could see Sharpay. "Weird couple."

Troy didn't need to look to nod. He'd seen enough of it throughout the past three days. "A bit."

She set down her glass and turned her brown eyes on Troy. "Is it awkward?"

"Is what awkward?"

"Seeing the girl you like out with someone else?"

"Ry, I don't-" Ryleigh raised a knowing eyebrow. Troy swallowed the lie in his throat and let out a long breath. "How can you tell?"

"Well, even though this is a strictly-friends date between us, girls can tell when guys are looking at them and wishing they were someone else."

"I'm sorry. I just… I'm not doing it purposely."

Ryleigh shrugged. "Not a big deal, really. I was doing the same thing in the parking lot.

Troy's forehead creased. Parking lot… Nolan and Sharpay… Ryleigh staring… "You actually like Clark?" Ryleigh looked at him like it was obvious. "He's such a-"

She put up a finger, just as Nolan had done to him in the parking lot. _Hm… maybe they should be together._ "You're prejudiced. You don't know what he's really like."

"I know he thinks he can have whatever girl he wants."

"Nolan has _never_ forced a girl to be with him. Sure, he's snaked past a few boyfriends to get to a girl he'd like to know, but he would never compel a girl into being with him. It's the stupid bet that made him as crazy as he is."

"Bet? What, Nolan lost a bet and now he has to break guy code to get with as many girls as he can?"

Ryleigh furrowed her eyebrows. "You don't know about the bet?"

"Obviously not."

"He and Jason made a bet the first week of school. Like, literally the week. Freshman year. He didn't tell you?" Troy shook his head slowly. "Alright, I'll explain- _grazie_."

A waiter placed an iced tea in front of Ryleigh and a Coke in front of Troy. "Are we ready to order?" Troy looked over at Ryleigh. She looked up at the man and then back at the menu. "Um… what'd we have last year, Troy, calamari?"

"Calamari fra diavolo?" The waiter suggested in his Italian accent. Ryleigh nodded and she held her menu up at him. "And the cavatelli, please."

The waiter nodded and kept his eyes trained on the order pad in his hand as he scribbled down the order. "Cavatelli, buono, for you sir?" Troy always felt weird being called sir. He was only seventeen. It made him feel like an old man. "Della casa chicken, _per favore_."

"Calamari, cavatelli, della casa, molto buno. Grazie." He finished, dropping the pad into his apron and snatching up their menus. Troy looked back over at Ryleigh, who was squeezing a lemon into her drink. "Well?"

She dropped the lemon into her drink and pushed it down with her straw. "Well? Oh, right, the bet. Well, Jason, Nolan, and I were in Geometry together. And it was something with Gabriella… I think Jason thought she was hot? And Nolan agreed and they formed some sort of bet to see who could make consensual 'lip contact' first- that's what they called it. _Lip contact_. Gay, right?" Troy laughed and Ryleigh took a sip through her straw. "Well, Jason decided it'd be more fun to see who could get through the most girls by senior year. And Nolan wasn't going to turn down the challenge, so he agreed, and they spent the entire class making a list of girls."

"I thought Jason was just born a lady's man." Troy said, leaning back in his chair. It was like a mysterious knot had just been untangled.

"Oh no, he probably was. But the bet released his hidden powers."

Troy looked back over at Nolan and Sharpay's table. Is that what their date was about? Sharpay was obviously not going to kiss Jason, so Nolan had his chance? Was she just another name on the list? In a way it was better than he thought- Sharpay wasn't going to sleep with Nolan. God, he hoped she wasn't. But it was still bad, because Troy was still wondering if Nolan was only using her.

/

"This is surprisingly delicious." Sharpay grinned, twirling a few more strands of fettuccine alfredo around her fork.

Nolan looked up from cutting his filet mignon alla something and grinned. "You don't think an authentic Italian restaurant would have good fettuccine?"

"No. Well, I thought it was more of the I'm-an-Italian-restaurant-but-my-chefs-are-really-from-Chicago type of place. But this-" Sharpay raised her fork. "-I'm ready to have this imported to school for my lunch every day- don't laugh at me! Try it. Then we'll see who's laughing."

Nolan looked back and forth between Sharpay and her bowl of pasta. "Are you serious?"

Sharpay raised an eyebrow, holding her fork out to Nolan, the end with the pasta pointing in his direction. "What's wrong, steak boy? Scared of actual Italian food? I mean, really, who orders _that_ when there's so much of delicious _this_." Sharpay drew circles with her fork and waited.

"It's juicy, Italian seasoned, and it cuts like butter." Nolan used his own fork to pick up the piece of filet he had just cut. He held it in her direction, smirking. "I dare you."

Sharpay looked down at his fork before returning to his playing blue eyes. "I dare _you_." She responded, moving her fork as a small bit of steam floated into the air. "Same time, then."

"Deal."

"One…" Nolan started, shifting forward in his seat to reach across the table. "Two…" Sharpay starting laughing. "Three-"

Sharpay's laugh got louder as the steak hit the corner of her mouth, a drop of juice sliding down to her chin. Sharpay caught the meat in her hand as she picked her cloth napkin up from her lap with the other, dabbing at her chin and stopping the juice from going any further. Nolan dropped his own fork onto the table and tried to reach for Sharpay's- who had managed to jab his cheek. With an LOL expression on his face, he took the bite and leaned the fork back down against Sharpay's place. Ignoring the giant splotch of alfredo on his cheek and chewing. "Well, my cheek thinks it's delicious." Sharpay fell into another fit of laughter at Nolan's full, muffled voice. He picked up his white napkin and covered his mouth.

That's when she heard it. In between the loud chatter of the other people in the restaurant. In between the sound of the cooks talking amongst each other in Italian. In between beats of music coming softly from hidden speakers. While Nolan wiped his face clean. While Sharpay managed to take a breath from laughing- she heard it. Her name. In that moment of silence she heard her name above all the ruckus. Louder than anything else, even her now-pounding heart, was Troy's voice. She knew he was there, a few feet away, with Ryleigh. She had noticed when the waiter had brought them their appetizer; he had then turned around and given them their drinks. She had been trying extremely hard not to look over. He was on a date. It would be rude to stare.

Obviously Sharpay didn't know that he looked over at her every seventeen seconds.

Just before Nolan finished de-saucing himself, Sharpay decided it was okay to take just a little peak. He was taking a bite of… chicken?… and nodding at some story Ryleigh was telling him about boats and hoes. Or was it _totes_ and _fro-yo_? Sharpay wasn't really listening. Her eyes fell down to the open buttons of Troy's black plaid shirt. There was a white t-shirt with writing on it showing but she couldn't make out what it said. She loved his ability to be so casual in such a place. It would be like her wearing her Elizabeth and James dress. But no, instead she was wrapped up in Kelsi's Alice + Olivia tube dress. Not that it wasn't a nice dress, because it was, but it wasn't very her. Sure, she owned tight clothing, but she preferred her clothes to be a bit more… airy.

As she turned back to Nolan, she could have sworn she saw Troy look at her from the corner of his more-grey eye. Her mind was playing tricks on her. Tormentingly delightful tricks. Sharpay smiled and reached for her glass.

/

"'Scuse me, Troy. These iced teas go right through me."

Troy grimaced up at Ryleigh as she stood from her chair, adjusting her dress. "Too much information, grandma."

Ryleigh winked and made her way down a small hallway that held the bathrooms. He sat back in his seat, looking at the cleared table in front of him. He looked up at the clock in the kitchen and down at his soda. 9: 03. Had this night really been going on for an hour and a half? He looked over at the table to his left, where Sharpay was sitting alone, typing something on her iPhone 3G. Now was his chance to warn Sharpay. He got up from his seat and slid easily into Nolan's open chair. Sharpay did a double take before lowering her phone. "Troy? Why- where's Ryleigh?"

"Bathroom. Listen, I need to tell you something."

"Nolan is _not_ trying to sleep with-"

"No, not sleep with." Sharpay raised an eyebrow, rotating to slide her phone back into her jacket. "Just 'lip contact'."

She turned back to him. "What are you trying to push, now?"

"I'm not _pushing_ anything, I'm just telling you what I heard."

"Then continue, please."

"He and Jason made a bet to see who could get with the most girls first. Lip contact. Kissing. Whatever."

Sharpay sat and stared at him, and for a moment Troy thought he'd accomplished what he set out to do. She leaned forward with concentrated eyes. "Are you saying he's using me?

"I'm saying… I don't know. Maybe. He might be."

"Listen, I know you hate him because of something that happened with Tiara, but, " Troy opened his mouth to speak, but Sharpay's eyebrows rose as she cut him off "-yes, that's right. He told me."

"Then you know what he's like."

"Oh, I know what he's like. A lot better than you think you do. He's sweet and funny, but you won't get over a grudge, so you can't see it."

Troy blinked. This was not the conversation he had planned. Not even close. "I see fine."

"He likes _Ryleigh_." Troy shook his head. No. Not true. Guys like he and Jason couldn't _like_ people. Not for real, anyway. Their likes changed every three days. The tan Italian waiter set a tartufo in the middle of the table and Sharpay smiled up at him. "Thank you." She looked back at him and Troy felt his heart harden up a little bit. There was annoyance in her irises. And confusion. And sadness. And he could barely look at them. "I don't want you to get hurt, Sharpay."

"The only one who's hurting me right now is you. You can't let me enjoy myself, can you?" She stood up, pulling her top up, and her hem down. She grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair and slid it onto her arms. Troy watched in uncertainty as she fixed her hair and pushed her chair towards the table. _Wait, wait, wait- where are you going? Can I come?_

Troy stood up and pushed the chair in. "Don't follow me, Troy." Her brown eyes bore into his. "Please."

That was it. He stood there like an idiot watching her walk out of the room. He wasn't sure how long it took before Nolan returned with Ryleigh at his side. Some of her sparkly lip-gloss was on the corner of his lip. It was obvious they'd been making out, but Troy figured it wasn't the time to point out how much of an idiot he was. "Where's Sharpay?"

"She walked out." _Because I may have, accidentally and unintentionally, led her to believe you're using her… _

Okay, maybe a little bit intentionally.

"Why? What happened?"

"We were talking and she got upset. She got up and told me not to follow her."

"You always follow, Troy, always." Ryleigh frowned slightly,

"You just let her _leave_?" Nolan's eyes were concerningly wide. Like he really cared. "Dude, seriously?"

Troy watched as Nolan pulled a crinkled hundred from his wallet and dropped it on top of the table next to the untouched dessert. "What are you going to do?"

"Look for her, Bolton. She's walking in the dark, alone, on a Friday night, in a mini dress. Just because it's a small town doesn't mean there aren't creeps."

Troy stood frozen in place. He hadn't even thought of that. As Nolan rushed out towards the front door, Ryleigh grabbed her blazer and slid her arms into it as Troy threw a few twenties on the table. They followed the course Nolan had taken right out to the sidewalk and to the parking lot on the side of the building. Troy looked up and down the street- nothing, except for a few cars, a man closing up the coffee shop, and a few smokers standing outside La Famille across the street. Didn't they know there was a crisis going on? Sharpay could have been mistaken by a pimp for one of his hoes. She could have been hoe-napped… if this were any place except Eastwood, Connecticut. He reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out his cell, scrolling for Sharpay's name in his contact list.

"Don't bother, she's not picking up."

Troy looked up and saw Nolan pulling out keys. He sighed and put his BlackBerry away, doing the same. Ryleigh stood in between them, in the middle of the crowded parking lot, looking back and forth. "What should I do?"

"You go with Nolan, I'll go check the school. I can get there faster." It was the first comment Troy had made on his car all night. He was proud of himself. Nolan stood next to his car, the driver's door open, all ready to jump in. He watched as Ryleigh approached the passenger's side, her black heels echoing. "Where could she have gone?"

Troy walked towards his car, pressing the automatic unlock button on his key chain. "I don't know. I thought you were 'well-versed'."

"Could you stop mocking me for five seconds, Bolton? As soon as Sharpay's safe we can go back to hating each other, okay?"

Ryleigh rolled her eyes, looked across the hood of the car at Nolan and then across the lot at Troy. "If you were a pissed off blonde, in a new town, two miles from your school, where would you go?"

Nolan tapped his palm against the car impatiently as he thought. It was only now that Troy realized that maybe Nolan was actually a human being. Maybe he could like a girl just as a friend. Maybe that's all he wanted out of Sharpay- a friend… and a way to piss Troy the hell off. Oh, great, now he felt worse. Nolan lifted his hand in defeat. "I don't know. But she couldn't have gotten far."

"Wait." Nolan and Ryleigh both turned their heads to Troy, one foot in the car, one foot out. "I know where she is."

Thank god there were no cop cars between Il Sogno and Eastwood Academy, because Troy had been going about 50 in a 35. He'd been delayed, though. He had sat in his car for three whole minutes before Max got back from the bathroom and opened the gate for him. Two minutes to park and get back up to campus… a little less than ten minutes to trek through the woods using the flashlight he stored in his car for those emergencies that never happened. Every couple minutes he tried calling her, and every couple of minutes the call would be ignored. He really hoped she was just pissed and wasn't in the stomach of a black bear.

He pulled back the last few branches and there it was. What he was looking for- the lake, not Sharpay. "Where the _fuck_." He whispered harshly to himself. He grabbed the hair at the back of his head and looked around, pointing the flashlight in every direction. Well, shit. This was awesome. Troy had called off the search party. No one else was looking for her. Nolan was probably staring at his phone waiting for the text message Troy promised he'd get Sharpay to send him. But… he was so sure she'd be here. Where else would she go? He sighed- more like grunted- and looked around one more time before turning around and walking back into the woods. Gabriella said she wasn't in their room. Martha said she hadn't seen her. Where the hell could she be? Oh god…

Maybe she _had_ been hoe-napped.

/

"Dude, relax, I'm sure she's home by now."

Troy stopped tapping his foot and looked over at Jason, lounging on one of the other couches in the Stuart common room with a fruit roll-up dangling from his mouth. "Then why hasn't anyone told me? If someone texts me and tells me she's home, I'll relax."

Jason rolled his eyes and looked back over at the movie on the TV. Conveniently enough it was Zoolander. And Will Ferrell was trying to hypnotize Ben Stiller with that 'Relax' song. Jason pointed at the screen. "See, man? Subliminal messaging."

Troy was about to throw a couch pillow at his head when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He looked down at it: _Sharpay's home._ He looked up and glared at Vince Gati on the other end of the couch he was situated on. "Funny."

"Jason's right, Bolton. You really should calm down." Vince shook his head, ripping off a piece of fruit roll-up. He was James' roommate. His number two. Known for throwing the most outrageous back-to-school parties at his parent's house in Greenwich- and because all the girls said he looked 'oh my god, _just_ like Jake Gyllenhaal'. "Town passes expire at eleven. It's midnight. She's probably sleeping off whatever you did to make her run away."

"I didn't do anything. She just got up and left."

"Well you obviously said something."

"Yeah, we were talking about Nolan, but-" Vince raised his eyebrow with a smirk on his face. Troy pulled himself out of the worn couch cushion. "It doesn't matter. I just don't want her stranded out in the woods again."

Jason blinked innocently, not even looking away from the television, but feeling Troy's gaze. "You look at me like I had something to do with it."

"You had something to do with it during initiation." Troy shouted, already halfway up the first set of stairs. All he wanted to do was sleep, and wake up, and go to breakfast, where he would see Sharpay nice and healthy and alive. But there was no way in hell it was going to happen. Not until he saw three words on the screen of his BlackBerry: I am okay. Or even 'I'm home' would do. He just needed something. Once he ducked into his room he fell back onto his mattress, sending another, what he guessed would be, useless text to Sharpay's phone. But a few seconds later his phone vibrated on his stomach and he lifted it to his face with lightning speed. Three words. But not the ones he wanted.

_Stop. Texting. Me._

/

Gabriella didn't see what Sharpay's deal was. She'd trudged through the front door somewhere around midnight and now here she was, nine hours later, rustling through her dresser like a maniac. If Gabriella cared, she would have asked what was wrong. Instead, she slid closed the closet door and slid her cashmere bolero sweater over her arms. No use getting dressed up today. Every Saturday some fitness guru from a gym a few towns over came and taught classes all day. She'd be in a pilates class in about an hour. As she turned, Sharpay slipped past her, making her way to her own side of the closet. Gabriella watched as Sharpay stuffed her equestrian legging-ed feet into a pair of dark pull up boots. Her expression-less face went well with her brown-shaded boyfriend tartan. Much to Gabriella's dismay, Sharpay's I-just-woke-up-and-I-don't-care tousled hair looked just as good as her I've-been-up-for-hours hair. But the dark, monotone, color scheme was different than her normal, flowy, Free People-esque self. Today she looked like a mourning cowgirl.

She was silent walking the cafeteria. She was silent getting her food, Gabriella imagined- she didn't really try to pay attention, for lack of wanting to. Their table continued on conversation as normal, but Sharpay participated in none of it. And the most amazing thing happened when Troy came in twenty minutes later. They didn't speak. They barely even looked at each other. It was like Christmas.

Or the apocalypse.

Gabriella slowly lifted a spoonful of blueberry yogurt to her mouth and studied Troy's face. He was listening to the conversation between she, Ryan, and Kelsi but not actually participating. He just let his eyes drift back and forth as someone spoke, occasionally biting into his cream cheese-ed cinnamon raisin bagel. There were two toasted on his plate, but he had barely made it through half of his first one. Which was unusual. Troy always said his favorite meal of the day was breakfast. She really wanted to know what the hell happened and why he was off kilter. It was probably Sharpay's fault. Just another reason to hate her.

"Why so silent, Sharpay?" Maratha's voice said suddenly. Gabriella looked over at the bobbed blonde. "Bad date last night?"

Sharpay shook her head, staring down at her phone. "No, it was great. Nolan's great."

"You never told me how the dress plan worked? Did he die?"

"Of course he did. You saw her." Gabriella looked over at Kelsi. So _that's_ whose dress Sharpay was wearing last night. Figures.

"If we was embarrassed he didn't show it."

"Of course he didn't. He was too busy making out with Ryleigh in the bathroom."

Sharpay turned her head sharply to Troy, who rose a matter-of-factly eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Nolan. Ryleigh. Bathroom. You walked out, you didn't see."

Sharpay stared at him for the longest Gabriella had seen all morning. A few blinks later she stood up, the back of her chair nearly colliding with the back of Angela's. The senior table- minus Lily, who was nowhere to be seen- turned and watched as Sharpay squeezed past Martha and Zeke's chairs and down a few tables, to where Nolan was sitting with a few of his Pryce friends. She sat at an empty seat and said something to him, at which they both looked over at the table, at Troy, and back at each other.

Gabriella missed whatever exchange of words Nolan and Sharpay had before they leaned towards each other. And kissed. On the lips. For everybody to see. The boys at Nolan's table let out a few childish cheers. Her brown eyes probably bulged out of her head, as she turned back to the breakfast table. Kelsi tucked her chin down into her Dolce & Gabbana turtleneck poncho, no doubt hiding a giant smirk. Jason's forehead creased significantly as he leaned back in his chair mumbling "_the fuck?"_ just loud enough for her to hear. Everyone else's eyes went straight to Troy, who barely blinked as he looked at the PDA a few tables away. If she were anyone else but herself she would have felt bad. But this was merely another step in getting Troy to fall in love with her. If he needed to see a few seconds of painful kissing for that to happen, so be it.

He pushed himself up from the table and turned to leave. James reached for his forearm but Troy narrowly dodged it. Half of the cafeteria went silent, some people whistled, some people whispered, and everyone else watched Troy slide out of the large wooden doors. She turned and looked back at Kelsi, who just nodded in Troy's direction. Right. Troy. She should follow him. Make sure he's okay. Give him a hug.

Maybe a kiss.

"Troy." Gabriella called out, walking down the steps towards the quad. She looked around. "Troy?" Where could he have possibly gone this fast? She took a few more steps along the sidewalk, admiring the abnormally warm November morning. She looked up and saw his dark orange shirt leaning against one of the quad trees in front of the East Wing. It really was a hideous color. Once they started dating he would definitely have to throw it away. Her brown flats barely made a sound as she walked across the grass in his direction. "Troy?"

He turned to look over his shoulder. Once he realized who it was he pivoted and leaned his back against the tree trunk. "He's just so… sleazy, isn't he?"

Gabriella grinned. "Compared to Jason?"

Troy shook his head; a dimple appearing at the corner of his mouth let Gabriella know he was holding back a smile. "I don't know what I did."

"Not that I want you two to get together or anything…" Troy rolled his eyes. "But I don't like seeing you upset like this, so I'm going to give you some friendly advice."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Ask her." What? Who said that? Because it certainly wasn't Gabriella.

"She won't speak to me, Gabriella. Not civilly, anyway. It's killing me."

Gabriella dug her fingernails into her palm. _This_ was killing _her_. "Well, you'll both be at the party tonight. Wait until she gets a few drinks in her and her feelings will pour out smooth as Grey Goose.

As Troy seemed to be contemplating this, Gabrielle bit back her own contemplation of her the ingenious plot forming in her head. Sharpay… Alcohol…

_Interesting…_


	17. Part of the Plan

"No way, Mexico. No way you chose that bottle-blonde rag doll over me. I thought what we had was special."

"I don't know what you think we have, Jason, but I assure you that it's not special." Sharpay rolled her eyes, not bothering to look over at Jason while they and the rest of their table walked out of the cafeteria.

"Oh, me-_ow_. Now I feel Troy's pain." Sharpay looked down and pushed her plaid sleeves further up her arms. Troy. He'd stormed out of the cafeteria. But did she blame him? If he had gone and kissed Gabriella or Ryleigh in front of the eighty percent of the school she'd be upset, too. She would have walked away. Right into the arms of-

There they were. Troy and Gabriella. Their backs toward Sharpay, walking too close for her comfort towards Hale. Her brain was so completely focused on those two bodies, yet somehow her body managed to break away from the guys and move in the direction of Hale with Martha, Kelsi, and Taylor. "Earth to Sharpay! Helloooo?" She heard Martha's voice at her side but couldn't bring herself to respond.

"Maybe she's still getting over that kiss." Taylor's soft voice threw in.

"Or maybe she's trying to get over watching somebody _else _get over that kiss."

"Kelsi!" Martha whisper-shouted, as if Sharpay couldn't see. But she could. It was the only thing she could focus on. It was like she was a racehorse wearing blinders. Only able to see what was in front of her. Except this finish line was made up of a boy with his hands in his front pockets and a girl smiling up at him, and the only confetti in sight was the pieces of her heart breaking and falling to the pit of her stomach like led horseshoes. Troy. Gabriella. His lips. Her arms. Sharpay couldn't tell if their position was lingering or if her mind was drawing out the pain in slow motion. She didn't want to know either way. She wanted to blink. Her eyes were dry as Martha slid her hand into the crook of her arm and squeezed. The attempt at comfort didn't help. It was still Troy. It was still someone else touching his lips. Is this what Troy had felt like when she'd kissed Nolan? She wanted to take it back. She didn't want to feel this. She didn't want _anyone_ to feel this. Whatever _this_ was.

I believe the word is heartbreak, Alex. _Heartbreak_.

"It doesn't mean anything." Martha whispered as they neared the two, only now pulling apart. Sharpay closed her eyes. Maybe it didn't. But her heart thought it did. She tried to calm herself, breathing slowly to the beat of the sound her boots made against the walkway beneath her. When she opened her eyes Gabriella's brown eyes were subtly shooting her daggers. _I hate you, too_. Sharpay stared, wrapping her arms around herself. She was aiming for bitchy and unaffected, but she could tell she probably came off as bothered and pitiful. She averted her eyes- right in the direction of Troy's face. It was calm. As if he hadn't just been caught publicly displaying affection in the way of Gabriella. Maybe Martha was right and it didn't mean anything… Or maybe that's what he wanted her to think… Or maybe she was going crazy…

He looked over at Gabriella from his peripheral, not even turning his head, before his blue eyes came back to her. He raised a skeptical eyebrow. Sharpay shook her head. They stood there for three long, unbearable seconds before Sharpay decided to move. "See you in the Center." She said aloud, trying to sound as cool as she could. Which seemed to work, because Troy shot her a bemused look as she passed him. Making the extra effort to avoid brushing against his arm on her way into Hale, she slid into the dorm, thankful the doors were propped open and she hadn't had to stop and take her ID key out. It would have really killed her seemingly casual, dramatic exit. She just wanted to get the day hours over with and fast-forward to tonight. But first she wanted to take a kickboxing class and visualize Gabriella's head in position of everything she was supposed to hit.

/

"No, I can't tell Lily to put Nolan on the Unnapproved List."

"Why not?" Troy grunted, half in exertion against the weight he was benching and half in impatience towards Nolan Clark, which was currently at an all time high.

"You _know_ why." James spoke in a low tone, helping him lift the iron back into its place. The bang of the barbell against the metal bench arms made Troy's ears ring. He sat up, lifting his orange Just Do It Nike shirt to wipe his forehead. He let it drop, now sporting a misshapen sweat mark. Yes, he knew why. Yes, he wished he could change the rules. Yes, he wanted to accidentally up the speed of Nolan's treadmill. And no, he would not feel bad about it.

He looked up and over towards the glass-enclosed class room. Saturday meant scheduled classes. Pilates, Kickboxing, Steps- the works. It was 11:52 according to the clock across the fitness center. That meant Kickboxing was almost over. And Sharpay would be walking out soon, probably leaving to go to lunch. Troy could see the back of Sharpay's head as the instructor led the cool down stretches. "Can't we break the rules for -"

"Troy." James shot a warning look.

"_Sorry_. He's just under my skin right now."

"Dude, you just need to hit Sharpay with her own medicine."

Troy turned towards Jason, whose eyebrow was raised over his water bottle. "Do I need to recap everything for you? That's all I've _been_ doing."

"No, your efforts have been more focused on pissing off Nolan. Ignore your cavalier upbringing for ten minutes and get Sharpay ticked."

"I thought that's what kissing Gabriella was supposed to do?"

"You kissed Gabriella?" James looked confused. Troy didn't blame him- all he did was deny any feelings towards her. And he didn't have feelings towards her. He felt like he was leading her on by kissing her, but it was worth a shot. "Don't remind me."

"Is that why she's been staring at you the past hour?"

"Like she wouldn't do that anyway." Vince smirked, leaning his forearms against Jason's barbell.

"You just need to show her that she's not affecting you." Jason nodded his head towards the glass room, where the class was clearly ending and people were putting wrist and ankle weights into a blue plastic container. Sharpay punched Nolan in the arm with her wrist weight before dropping it into the box. God, could they be apart for like a minute?

"Right." Troy mumbled, smiling internally as Martha pulled Sharpay away and out of the room. "How?"

"Be an asshole." Before Troy could get a word out Jason continued with, "Ignore her. Don't speak directly to her. Avoid eye contact. Pretend she's not even here."

Troy shook his head, seeing she and Martha approach from his peripherals. "I can't."

"Five minutes won't kill you, lover boy. It'll be worth it. Now shut up and keep those pretty blue eyes on the ground. Cox!" Jason smirked at his own knowledge, raising a hand in Martha's direction. He set his green eyes on Sharpay. "She-Devil."

"Kissing your opponent does not make her a devil." James clarified.

"No. Just makes him jealous." Troy could hear her smiling. He wanted to look up. He had to. It was too hard. So he did. And it was a mistake. She was smiling. And she was looking straight at him. "Hi Troy."

"I don't get jealous." Jason interrupted. Troy looked over at him, sending a thousand thank-yous through his eyes. Martha laughed, completely unaware. "You were SO jealous when Nolan got to Gabriella first."

Troy rolled his eyes and looked past Sharpay and Martha, focusing on the TVs hanging from the ceiling. One was on the CNN. One was on ESPN. One was on E! And the last was on Food Network. It made him hungry. And all he just wanted to do was go to lunch. That way he could not look at Sharpay and at least make it casual. When his eyes and ears drifted back to the conversation, Martha and Vince were talking over Jason's denial of jealousy. Sharpay was staring at him, a look in her eyes he couldn't put a name on. She looked confused and upset. What did she have to be upset about? She wanted Nolan. She had Nolan. She should be jumping for joy.

He was too busy feeling sorry for himself he didn't notice Ryleigh and Nolan walking out of the room hand-in-hand.

"-when Lily hooked up with Aiden at The G sophomore year."

James shifted on his feet. "No, not at all."

"Who's Aiden?" Sharpay had looked away from Troy and was now looking between Vince and James. "And what's The G?"

"You're so new, it's cute." Martha giggled, patting Sharpay's arm.

"Aiden's my brother." Jason took another swig if his water bottle, proudly continuing with, "Residing Alpha of last year's graduating class."

"Awh, couldn't live up to the rep, J?" Sharpay raised an eyebrow, glancing over at Troy and then back at Jason.

"That's not how it works, Blondie." Jason stood up, moving towards her and stopping two steps short of being directly in her face. Martha looked over at James. Troy stood up. He didn't have to talk to Sharpay to defend her, right? Right. Sharpay blinked a few times as she looked up at Jason. "But I wouldn't expect you to know that."

"Alright, lunch time. Let's go." Troy nudged Jason forward with his palm. Sharpay swallowed a lump in her throat and looked at Martha. Troy heard shuffling on the carpet behind him and assumed it was Vince and James following. He hoped it wasn't Sharpay coming. He didn't think he could handle it. He heard James' voice address Sharpay. "And as for The G, you'll find out soon enough."

"Three months, man. Start securing the dates."

"Speak for yourself. I'm guaranteed in."

Sharpay turned towards Martha. "What're they talking about?"

"Nothing." Martha answered. And then Troy was too far away to hear anything else.

/

"Where's Sharpay?" Ryan asked, swallowing a mouthful of chicken.

"At the Center."

"She's still there?" Troy said, turning towards Martha.

"She said she wasn't hungry."

"But she didn't come back for lunch either."

"Can you say anorexic?" Gabriella mumbled, smirking in Kelsi's direction.

"Look who's talking." There was a smirk in Ryan's eyes as Gabriella glared into them. She stabbed her salad with her fork. She was not anorexic. But she didn't have Kelsi's metabolism. And she hated exercise. This was the only way to maintain her perfect form.

"She needs to eat something if she's drinking tonight." Troy's tone was cautious and protective. Gabriella tried to hide her smirk, biting into a crouton.

"Let Nolan take care of it, Bolton." Jason said and Troy leaned back in his chair. Gabriella chewed slowly. What was that all about? Troy taking orders from Jason? What was she missing here? She looked to her right, inspecting the back of Lily's head. She probably knew what was going on. Hopefully in all her omniscience, she overlooked the package Gabriella received in the mail this morning. What was in it. What she did with half of it and even more important- what she planned to do with he rest of it.

"What time are we starting anyway?"

"Eight thirty." Lily's voice carried from her own table. She didn't even turn around as she answered Kelsi's question.

Zeke laughed. "We'll be dead by ten."

"And hitting the porcelain goddess by eleven." He and Jason exchanged a high five.

Martha's hazel eyes rolled. "Disgusting."

"Really." Taylor nodded, looking up momentarily from her book. "Do you know how many people die a year from alcohol poisoning?"

"Do you know how much I don't care?" Jason made his point by leaning his elbows forward on the table and stuffing a carrot stick into his mouth.

"Seventy nine thousand."

"Do you study the CDC's website or something?" Gabriella lifted her voice so it could be heard across the table. Taylor tucked her almost black hair behind her ear as she looked down at her. "Seriously."

She shook her head slowly and looked back at her book. "Freshman health class? Apparently I'm the only one of us who can retain any information."

"You read all the student files, right?" Ryan lowered his voice. Taylor nodded. "Could you tell me something then? About someone's grades?"

Taylor folded the corner of a page in her book and set it down on her lap and smiled. "Afraid someone is smarter than you? Other than me?"

"By a tenth of a point, Tay." Kelsi slid her hand into her boyfriend's trying to calm him down. She must know better than anyone that academic talk got him all riled up. It would have been sweeter, had her other hand not been still successfully carrying on a text. Gabriella looked over at Troy. He looked so miserable, poking his chicken slowly and repeatedly with his fork. She was so ready to slide her hand into his and calm him down. That kiss obviously meant something. So what if she had initiated it. So what if it had only lasted four seconds. It was as good as she had imagined it to be. And she wasn't ready to give it up. Right, she should hold his hand…

"Who is it then? What do you need? GPA? Class rank?"

"Sharpay's." And just as Gabriella lifted her hand, Troy's head lifted up, his fork halfway into stabbing his chicken. "She's in half my classes. I want to know if the rank got screwed up."

"Well, duh, she screwed up the rank. There are only eighty-nine people in our class."

Gabriella pulled her hand back and smoothed down her hair casually. Troy's blue eyes went from Taylor to Ryan as they spoke to each other. She narrowed her brown eyes. Look. At. _Me._ "She couldn't have pushed you back, Ryan, you're number two."

Ryan squeezed Kelsi's hand and sat back in his seat, a smile on his face for being called out on his achievement. "Well, you never know."

For a split second, Gabriella swore Troy looked over at her. She knew he did. She could have sworn she saw it. He liked her! He liked her! She was so happy she stuffed a giant forkful of lettuce into her mouth without caring about proper dining etiquette. Troy Bolton liked her. So what if everyone else thought she was a messy eater?

"Well, me and Ryan didn't get affected. Neither did Martha." Taylor spoke softly, looking directly at Gabriella. Gabriella swallowed and set her fork down, blinking a few times. "She broke the top ten?"

Taylor nodded. Ryan reached for his Iced Tea. "I could have guessed that."

Gabriella looked over at Troy, who turned to look back at her. Only this time he seemed as if he was waiting for her to explode. Waiting for her to go on a rampage on how she was no longer number 8 in her class. But she took in a deep breath. She was not going to freak out. This was just something else to put on her Why I Hate Sharpay list. She looked over at Taylor, keeping her enraged thoughts to herself. "Well? Are you going to tell us what number she is?"

"Eight... She's number eight."

Kelsi slammed her phone down on the table, causing Ryan to jump. Everyone at the table, and a few of the students at the table behind her, turned and stared at her unexpected outburst. "Are you kidding me? I've been working my ass off to stay in the top ten."

"Relax, Kels, they based it off her old grades. Eastwood's classes are more heavily weighted. Give it a few test grades, she'll drop down." Gabriella watched Kelsi's face relax ever so slowly.

"Actually, they convert the grades to the current system. She was number two at her old school, did amazing on her PSATs, it doesn't surprise me."

"Shut _up_, Taylor." Gabriella pushed her tray away and leaned forward, staring straight at Taylor. "Tell me who the top ten are."

"Well, do you want me to shut up or do you want me to tell you? Make up your mind."

Zeke snickered and Troy slyly covered his hand with his mouth, not wanting Gabriella to see him smirking. Gabriella narrowed her eyes and Taylor looked off, trying to recall the names. "After Ryan it's Chelsea Banks and Daniel Ng. Then Martha. Then Trevor Vargas, Ryleigh. Sharpay, you, Troy, Kelsi, then someone I can't remember, then Nolan, then-"

"Is Nolan everywhere all of a sudden or is it just me?" Troy leaned back in his chair again, forking a piece of chicken into his mouth.

"Wait, Taylor, am I-"

"Don't worry, Chad, you're fine. Just don't let your grades drop or we'll have some problems."

Gabriella looked away from Troy and back to Taylor, who was turned towards her boyfriend, running a hand through his curly hair. Chad Danforth was one of the few mysteries of Stuart Gabriella could never solve. He was born in Wyckoff, New Jersey; his father is a dentist, and his mother is a middle school teacher- hardly the type of person whose family could afford a semester, let alone a full four years, at Eastwood. It was obvious he was a scholarship student, even though she had never heard him say it out loud before. And scholarship at this school meant exhibiting and maintaining exemplary academic promise. And this meant staying in the top 20% of the class. And this meant not falling past number seventeen. In his position, it probably didn't hurt that his girlfriend was the smartest person in their class. The mystery that remained was how and why did Stuart choose to accept him over, say, Nolan Clark? Nolan's father, like Zeke's, is the owner one of the most popular restaurants in Manhattan. His mother is the Editor in Chief of the Wall Street Journal _and _writes articles in the New York Times under a pseudonym. Why would Stuart pick cavities and children over four stars and headlines? But hey, they let Sharpay into Hale. Maybe the decision system was flawed. No… not maybe. _Definitely_.

"I'm going to go check on Sharpay. Maybe bring her a sandwich or something." Gabriella turned and saw Martha grabbing her empty tray and pushing in her chair. "See you guys later."

Gabriella bit the corner of her lip. Later could_ not_ come soon enough.

/

"Are you sure you'll be alright? You've only been drinking water all day."

"I had an an apple..." Martha gave her a maternal look. "I'm fine, Martha, really, you can stop asking." Sharpay looked over at her worried friend and her four hundred dollar cardigan. What did one wear to a party in the woods anyway? It would be dark… and cold… did it really matter if you looked good? Sharpay had decided no- and put on a pair of destroyed J Brands and a thick grey AKA sweater. Secretly pricey, on the surface comfortable. "Where is this thing anyway?"

"Just a little bit further. There's a small clearing wide enough to fit around twenty people and a fire." Martha pulled her hands into her sleeves and a few moments of silence passed. "Are you positive? I mean you always eat-"

"Martha, _please_, I'll be okay. I had breakfast. Exercising must have suppressed my appetite or something." Sharpay pushed her wavy hair behind her ear. That may have been true. But she also just wanted to be as far away from Troy as possible. She felt like he didn't want to be near her. So why not save him the trouble and just stay in the gym all day? Truth be told, she hadn't even exercised the entire time. She was trying to avoid his blue eyes. He had only been in the Center for about two hours, and when Martha had pulled her over he had barely even looked at her. It hurt. A lot. But for some reason… she wasn't reacting like she normally would. Did that mean she didn't like Troy anymore? All she wanted were some answers on why the world was tricking her with these sick little games.

Are you there brain? It's me, Sharpay.

"Well you're not planning on drinking a lot are you? If you're running on negative calories, you're going to get very drunk, very quickly."

"Will it make you feel better if you monitor my alcohol intake? You can keep a tally and get them for me and everything." Sharpay laughed to herself and Martha shook her head, a smile tugging at her lip. "Sharpay Evans, do you know how many people die each year from alcohol poisoning?"

"Do you know how much it doesn't matter?"

/

"What number is that?" Troy mumbled, tilting his head towards Martha. She shrugged and lifted her cup to her lips. Gabriella was handing Sharpay the cup Martha had tapped for her. "Number two. And we're already more than an hour in. I checked her BAC count before we left. At this pace, she should be fine."

"She better be." He stared across the fire. Through the heat of the flames he could see a row of people situated on a fallen log. His eyes scanned the strip of people before sticking on Sharpay. She lifted her plastic blue cup to her lips, and barely took a sip before laughing at something Ryan said. Martha rolled her eyes before patting his bicep and walking towards the group of people she was sitting by, squeezing onto the log next to Brooke Turner, the tightly curled blonde senior with cat-like green eyes. He forced himself to follow her, stopping near Vince, Alex, and Lily, who were mere steps away from where Sharpay was situated. He could just barely hear Martha ask her, "Are you tired, Sharpay? You keep yawning." And Sharpay answer with, "Well, I was working out all day, of course I'm going to be a little tired."

"Troy, perfect." He turned his head and saw Lily staring at him with her come-hither dark blue eyes. "I need you to straighten something out for me."

Troy shrugged, "Sure."

"Well, Vince-"

"Lil-"

"Oh hush, Vincent, nothing to be ashamed of. Boys gossip, too." Vince shook his head, downing whatever was left in his cup. "Vince says you and Gabriella kissed?" "Mmm," Troy mumbled. Did everyone have to keep bringing this up? "And then Alex tells me Sharpay and Nolan kissed?" Troy nodded. Lily seemed to think over this for a moment. "God, you devote one morning to an off-campus breakfast, and you miss all the fun."

"Trust me. There was no fun."

Lily frowned. But it was the type of frown that said '_Oh, come on now' _as opposed to '_I'm sorry'. _"Then why go through all the trouble?"

"It's complicated."

"I'm guessing so. Because honestly, I was expecting you two to get together two days ago. But then I hear about all this you're-dating-Ryleigh, she's-dating-Nolan, Nolan's-dating-Ryleigh business." She put a hand on Alex's shoulder and looked over at his pale blue eyes. "Now, don't get me wrong, I love Nolan. He's adorable." She turned back to Troy. "But if you think you're going to mess with one of my candidates, you're very sorely mistaken."

Troy looked at Lily, and then turned to Sharpay, and then back. "I thought she finished."

"Hardly." Lily laughed. "And I don't need her all emotional and caught up thinking about why you're getting yourself involved with every other girl but her. So sort it out or I'll lock you two in a room and force you to."

/

"Time to play forest fire!" Jason yelled, lifting his cup into the air.

"Forest fire?" Sharpay whispered, leaning towards Brooke as the two of them stood up from the low log. "Some lame version of seven minutes in heaven we continue to play for... God knows what reason."

"You burn up the forest with your hot, steamy loooove." Sharpay almost had to cover her nose as he curled his arm around her shoulders. The scent of beer on his breath was too strong. She felt like she'd stepped inside of the keg. How was he even able to retain motor functions at this point?

"Completely immature." Angela mumbled to Kelsi from her spot across from Jason.

"You didn't think so last year when you and were getting all tangled in the shrubbery with Alexander." Angela narrowed her hazel eyes and turned her head slightly, looking at the blonde floppy haired boy standing next to Vince. Sharpay had never noticed this before- but he looked kind of like Nolan. Same hair color, same facial structure. Martha caught her looking and lowered her drink, looking past Brooke to get into her peripherals. "Alexander _Clark_."

Sharpay felt a question form under her eyebrows as she covered her mouth as she yawned. "Wait... He made it in and Nolan didn't?"

Martha bit her lip and looked at Brooke, then at Jason. Clearly exchanging some secret that made her palms itch with anticipation. She was in Hale now. Didn't she have the right to know these sorts of things? "Sometimes family names can't save you," was all she said.

Note to self: investigate _that_ further.

"Alright party people, phones out. Who's calling it?"

"My turn!" Martha chirped, looking around at the group of people surrounding her. "Troy, seventh text in your outbox. Kelsi, second to last missed call on your phone."

Sharpay looked down at her phone and then up Brooke. "I don't understand. What if the person that comes up isn't here?"

"Then you find the closest person. Or make one up." Jason finished, removed his arm from her and pointed his finger at Kelsi. "Troy." She said, looking up from her phone. Jason looked back at Sharpay. "But we're so typically and strangely in constant contact with each other that it normally works out perfectly. Troy, who'd you get?"

Troy looked up from his Blackberry, an almost grim look on his face as he looked up at Sharpay. She'd never seen his blue eyes this way. In this tone. _He hates me_, Sharpay squeezed her phone a little tighter in her hand. _Troy Bolton hates me._

Jason clapped a hand on her shoulder and pushed her forward lightly. "Okay you two, thirty steps, seven minutes. Have at it."

/

It was dark among the trees, away from the firelight of the party. They were moving along campus, but the bright lights from the back of the dorms tens of feet away barely gave enough light to see more than five steps in front of him. Thirty steps. He heard Sharpay stop, and as she stood, no doubt staring at him, he looked off in the other direction. He couldn't look at her. What was the point anymore?

"I don't like him." she announced. He almost scoffed. He pushed his hands into his pockets and turned his body in her direction, looking at his shoes. "You always kiss people you don't like?"

"Excuse me, but did you or did you _not_ kiss Gabriella this morning?"

"That's different."

"Well so was me kissing Nolan. I was helping him with the bet and he was helping-"

"-you what? Get diseased?"

"Make you jealous."

Uh... Excuse me?

He looked up, keeping his face as straight as possible as his eyes continued to adjust to the darkness. He could register her lifting her hand to cover a yawn. "Who said I was jealous?"

"Making a scene at breakfast? Kissing Gabriella? Ignoring me at the gym?"

"I was perturbed. Not jealous"

"You kiss other girls when you're bothered by something?"

"I kiss other girls when I'm trying to bother someone else."

Troy heard Sharpay step down on a branch, eliciting a small snap. Her blonde hair fell in front of her face when she looked down. "Well. That's mature of you."

"It's a nasty game." Sharpay looked up, her forehead wrinkled. "Jealousy?"

A smile started to creep onto her face. "I _knew_ you were jealous."

Troy's eyes widened momentarily. He'd forgotten he was playing it cool. Oh, well. Too late now. _Keep it casual Troy, keep it casual_. "Only slightly."

"All part of the plan."

"Plan?" Troy blinked, trying to process the information. Then it hit him. He'd been... Played? Never. Never in his life had this happened to him. He didn't get caught up in girly mind games. He was the alpha male. He was the swooner. The enticer. Definitely not the victim. He was almost ashamed. "I don't underst- what plan?"

"Martha's."

Troy ran a hand through his hair. Replaying the past 30 hours over in his head. "She made you wear the dress…"

Sharpay nodded. "Her idea."

"She told you to run off at dinner? Get me worried?"

"She said to make it seem like I was mad and see what happened."

"I looked for you. Texted."

"Proving that you're protective of me."

"And kissing Clark?"

"Well, that's a little different." Troy's eyes worked to stay focused on Sharpay in the dim light. He could barely make out the way she looked down at her hands, toying with her iPhone. "Martha wanted to see for herself how you would react to me with other guys... besides Nolan... Because, well, you know. But I'm the one who thought kissing him would warrant a reaction. If you even reacted at all."

"I walked out."

"Which meant it meant something. That it bothered you." A bright light seemed to come out of nowhere, and it took Troy a few blinks to realize she had opened one of those fifty useless flashlight applications people installed but never really used. Though, currently, very handy. He couldn't tell that she was blushing when she said, "Martha thinks you like me."

"And what do you think?"

"I thought you did. Maybe." She tilted her head slightly and met his eyes. "Until I saw the way you looked at me three minutes ago."

Troy stared. He hadn't meant his looking at her to come off as hate. But when he saw Sharpay's text so annoyingly and conveniently in his outbox, a flurry of emotions flashes through him at once. Happiness. Rejection. Excitement. Heartsickness. Misery. Optimism. "I'm sorry, then… for making you think that."

Sharpay let out an amused huff. "Please. _Please_, don't apologize. If anything, I should. Martha kept telling me that it was an experiment. That if I did this, you'd eventually realize how much you liked me and stop trying to make me jealous. It sounded so smart at the time. I didn't even realize that I was provoking all of it. That I was causing my own misery... Troy, you wouldn't even _look_ at me." She looked down. Troy wanted to say something. He took a small step forward, digging his hands into the warmth of his jeans pocket, but as he opened his mouth, she looked back up. "You know how you felt when you saw me kissing Nolan?" Troy nodded slowly. "That's how I felt when you kissed Gabriella. It was the worst video I've ever seen in my life. I felt like I was ripping my hear- _lungs_ out."

Troy's forehead creased. Had she been about to say heart? She was totally about to say heart, wasn't she? "Video?"

"Kelsi, uh… it was accidental. She'd closed her phone but it hadn't locked and it recorded everything from me leaving to Gabriella chasing after you... Your face..."

"Remind me to delete that." He mumbled, feeling slightly embarrassed. He didn't want any memories of this morning. Sharpay blinked as the light on her phone went dim. She didn't bother to tap the screen to re-illuminate it. Her head seemed to fall back, but she caught herself, shaking it off. She looked like Chris from their Lit class, how his head always jolted because he was starting to fall asleep. "Are you okay?"

She blinked a few more times and for the first time he noticed that she actually did look tired. He would have mistaken it for being drunk, were she not so composed right now. "I'm fine, just- Did you want to go back now? This is only slightly less awkward than I thought it was going to be, and-"

"Hey." She'd turned on her heel, tucking her phone into her back jeans pocket, but Troy caught her swinging arm by the wrist. She responded to his soft tugging by looking over her shoulder. "We still have two minutes…"

She smiled and turned around slowly. "You're such a guy."

"Would you rather I was a girl?" Troy smirked. He let go of her wrist, but decided he'd gone long enough without talking to or touching her. So he smoothly snuck his hand around her waist and pulled her up to him. He could feel the curvature of her smile press into his lips as her arms found their way around his neck. And there it was. That electric ping he'd felt just the other day. The one he felt every time he touched her. It hadn't gone anywhere. And neither had Sharpay. She was still here. She didn't like Nolan. She'd just been placed into a game by Martha, like he had by Jason. If neither of them had listened to anyone else, they could have been doing this yesterday night instead of enduring this whole painful day of avoidance. No more. No more listening to anyone else. He'd listen to himself, and Sharpay, and probably James- but that was it. He was just consuming himself with wanting to ask her if she still felt the same way about him. And as if silently answering his thoughts, she pulled away, keeping her face comfortably close to his and peering into his eyes, her fingers lightly smoothing up and down the back of his neck. It gave him the chills- the good kind, like when you're being tickled. Troy didn't want to blink. He felt just as happy as she looked before she smiled and kissed himself. It was like she was trying to make sure she was really here… with him and not… Nolan. _Ew_. He let his other arm wrap around her, eliminating any possible space that there could be between them.

Two minutes had never passed so quickly in his life.

As Jason shouted, "Time's up!" in the distance, Sharpay's hands slowly slid from his neck, and down to his chest over his sweatshirt. Troy regretfully forced himself to pull back, leaning his forehead against hers. He wanted more time. He had a whole day without her to catch up with. "Technically, we should get five more minutes."

"Mm. But rules are rules."

"Screw rules." He mumbled, finally opening his eyes. Her brown eyes looked heavy- dreamy- and slightly amused. She pulled away from him, a smirk on her face. "I'm telling James you said that."

"Do it. See what happens." Troy almost frowned when Sharpay took a few backwards steps before turning to walk back into the party. He slowly started behind her, and they'd made it a good twenty steps back in comfortable silence before he said something. "So what do you think now?"

She turned to look up at him. "About what?"

"Martha's theory."

She smiled and looked away from him, straight ahead. "I think that you-" was all that came out before she stumbled. Troy put his arm out to steady her and she squinted, shaking her head as she used it to stand up straight again. He kept his hand on her back as she looked up at him. "Sorry about that. Clumsy… What was I saying?"

She took another step and Troy walked carefully beside her. "You were- Sharpay… Are you sure you're alright? We could go back to campus…"

"What? No…" Sharpay laughed breathily, blinking her eyes slowly. "Really, I'm-"

Not fine?

If he hadn't been so close to her, Troy wouldn't have been able to catch Sharpay as her eyes closed, her knees buckled, and she went limp. "Sharpay." Troy said, shaking her lightly while he tried to keep her upright. "Shar." He said again. Useless. She was out like a light. She looked dead, actually. It scared the shit out of him. He maneuvered his arm under her knees, lifting her to carry her the few more steps into the clearing and into the light of the fire.

Martha was sitting on Jason's lap, and when her eyes registered who Troy was and whom he was carrying, she pushed herself up, setting her cup to the cold dirt before rushing over. Everyone's face was either buried in confusion or shock as Martha pressed her hand against Sharpay's cheek. Lily moved through the crowd of peers and to Martha's side. "What happened?"

"She just collapsed, I don't know."

Taylor's eyes were wide. "_What_ did I tell you guys about alcohol poisoning?"

James shook his head, Lily looked over at Gabriella suspiciously. "She barely finished her second cup."

Gabriella lifted her hands. "Don't look at me."

Kelsi raised an eyebrow, her eyes on the screen of her Sidekick. "Light weight?"

"She hasn't eaten." Martha whispered, starting to pull Troy's arm back towards the campus.

"God, Troy, you're not supposed to kill her."

"Shut _up_, Jason. What are we going to tell Adele?"

Lily took Angela's cup from her hand and set both of them on a rock. "We'll handle it."

"Kill the fire. Clear the area." James ordered, and just like that everyone broke from their shock and started emptying cups and stuffing them into a black trash bag. Troy met eyes with Gabriella as he passed her, following Lily as she started back through the forest. She looked just as confused as everyone else did. Maybe she actually didn't have anything to do with it this time. Maybe it was just the combination of alcohol, an empty stomach paired, and an all-day workout session.

Or maybe she was just a _really_ good actress.


	18. Public Enemy No 1

"I do have to keep a log, you know. All those who come in and out."

"Nurse Adele, need I remind you of the contract you signed? The one allowing you to pay for that new, creaseless face?" Lily spoke in low hushed tones, but Troy could still hear the power in her voice. He pushed Sharpay's blonde bangs out of her face as he stood next to her bed, waiting for her to wake up. She hadn't moved in ten minutes. And no one could give a clear answer as to why.

"Right." The old woman mumbled, pulling her lavender robe tighter around her. "Well, tell me again what happened, then. The truth, in details."

Lily looked over at Troy, and he looked from her, to Martha, to Nurse Adele. "Like what kind of details."

"What were you doing before she, collapsed, you said?" She said, moving Martha out of the way to place the back of her hand on Sharpay's forehead. Troy scratched the back of his neck. "We were talking about… stuff, you know, that had happened that day, and she seemed fine. She yawned a few times, I guess, and we…" Troy stopped himself and looked up at James, who had come in only a few minutes earlier. How did you tell an adult you were making out in the woods? He turned and looked back at Sharpay. At her emotionless face. He just wished she would move, or open her eyes, or anything to give some sort of hint that she wasn't in a coma. "Kissed. And then we were walking back- she stumbled sort of, and I thought she had just tripped, but then she forgot what we had been talking about and got spacey… And her eyes kind of rolled and her knees gave out." He closed his eyes and shook his head. This was just another memory to add to his list of things he wanted to forget. "I carried her here, that's it."

"Well, you were obviously drinking. Does anybody know how much of whatever it was she drank?"

"A cup and half of Heineken. Slowly. Over the course of an hour and a half." Martha spoke up, sitting on the edge of Sharpay's thin spring mattress. "She was fine. She just looked tired."

"She could barely keep her eyes open during that last minute." Troy mumbled, still staring down at Sharpay, racking his brain for clues.

"She doesn't take any medication, does she? Anything that could have mixed with the beer? Antidepressants? Sedatives? Antihistamines."

Lily shook her head. "Not that we know of."

"Well, I don't see how such a little amount could have given her these symptoms. There's obviously something else in her system."

"Can you figure out what it is?" Martha raised her eyebrows, putting a hand on Sharpay's jean-clad leg while looking up at the nurse. Adele shook her grey head. "Not here, I'm afraid. If we brought her to the hospital, they could run a toxi-"

"No." James and Lily said at the same time. They looked at each other before James turned back towards the bed. "The closest doctor we have at a hospital is at a conference. Any other doctor would mean contacting the school and dealing with the police."

"What are our other options?" Lily asked, pushing her black hair behind her ear. Troy looked over at the nurse expectantly. There had to be another way. There had to. "Well," She started, "We could always just wait for it to pass. We can try Ipecac, but I'd really hate using it when someone's not awake. Using it at all is a risk in itself."

"But it could help?" Troy said. James put a hand on his shoulder, trying to get him to relax. He appreciated the attempt at comfort, but the only real thing that was going to work was seeing Sharpay awake and in motion. Even if it was just to throw up. "Well, do it." He continued, not bothering to wait for a response. Lily gave Adele a look when she passed her before turning back to Troy. "Relax, Bolton, she's going to be alright. Promise."

Troy mustered up a sort-of smile, barely looking up to thank her before looking back down at Sharpay. He placed his hand atop hers, thankful that it wasn't ice cold. Martha rubbed her hand over Sharpay's calf. "I watched the drinks. I poured them for her. I should have-"

"It's not your fault."

"Then whose is it, Troy?"

"We'll find out. Just... breathe." Angela said softly as the nurse came back with a tinted bottle with Ipecac Syrup written on it in blue letters and a few lines of red that Troy couldn't make out because her hand was blocking half of it. As she unscrewed the white cap and placed it on the table near Sharpay's bed, Troy felt Sharpay's finger move under his hand. "Wait!" He shouted. The five of them turned to look at him like he was psycho. Thankfully there was no one else in the infirmary at ten thirty. "She moved."

He stared down at her, lifting his hand off of hers. Sharpay remained motionless. Was she playing another trick on him? If so, it was definitely not funny. He looked over at Martha, whose hazel eyes were giant, staring at Sharpay like she was going to spring up and say 'gotcha!' Nurse Adele waited a few short seconds before speaking. "Troy, lift her up for me, will you? Carefully? One of you, help him. _Carefully._"

Martha was all over it, hopping off the bed and around to Sharpay's right side, leaning against the mattress to support Sharpay while Troy tried to keep her in a sitting position. He watched, unable to do anything while the nurse tilted Sharpay's head back carefully and poured a small cup full of the syrup down her throat. He watched expectantly, waiting for something to happen. "It'll take a few moments. She's not awake to taste it, so we should be able to get her to the bathroom before anything happens. Hurry now."

Angela pushed her twin's arm, moving him towards Troy. "James, help him. Martha's too tiny."

As he and James each took an arm around their shoulders, Troy swore Sharpay moved on her own, her fingers flexing. Had James felt it to? Was she starting to wake up? Did she know what was going on? Was he making all of this up? By the time they'd situated Sharpay on the tile floor, the bathroom was overcrowded. Troy was trying to hold her up, Lily had produced a hair band out of no where and was trying to tie back her hair, and Nurse Adele was trying to clear out the space, saying "Clear out, it won't be pretty!"

It had gotten down to just he, Martha, and Lily on the floor- well, not Lily, she was standing behind her- when Sharpay moved again. Troy knew he wasn't crazy or imagining it, because Martha started to rub Sharpay's back. "Sharpay? Are you awake?"

"Nngh." Sharpay mumbled, her eyes still closed. Troy looked back at Adele, who was standing in the doorframe. "You two might not want to be so close."

Sharpay was slowly blinking her eyes open, squinting, when Troy looked back at her. "Full ike I'm gonna…"

Martha winced and looked the other way, still rubbing Sharpay's shoulder blades as the syrup worked it's magic. Lily scrunched her nose and every so often worked, to keep Sharpay's hair out of her face. It was messy. And it was disgusting. But Troy tried to block it out by only staring at Sharpay's shoulder. Every couple of seconds or so she would lurch forward and Troy would rub her back with his knuckles, unable to do anything else. Little more than a minute passed before Sharpay was completely run dry, what little she had consumed that day gone from her system. Her face was red and her eyes were wet from the tears running down her cheeks at the force of the vomiting. She put her elbows on the edge of the toilet seats, leaning her forehead into the palms of her hands. Troy looked back at the nurse once more. "Is that it?"

She nodded. "It should be. If you're telling me she didn't eat all day, there probably wasn't much in there to get rid of. Anything else would have been digested hours ago. It's probably safe to let her lay down, now."

"Come on, Shar." Martha whispered. Sharpay shook her head. "I don't know where I am."

"The bathroom. At the infirmary." She finished, working with Troy to help bring her to her feet. "Someone get a wet paper towel or something."

"Maybe some mouth wash." Angela added, and Lily shot her a look. "_What_? You want her teeth to rot from all that stomach acid? Getting rid of the smell will just be a plus."

"Mouth wash won't do much good, dear." Nurse Adele suddenly had a cup of water in her hand. She held it out to Troy. "Baking soda will dilute the acid. Sharpay, don't swallow this."

Sharpay swiped at her eye with her thumb as Lily wiped her mouth with a wet cloth. Troy felt like he'd landed a part in a Lifetime movie about a drunk who'd gone off the deep end. He waited for Lily to move out of the way, at which point Sharpay had leaned her head against his arm, looking like she was about to fall right back asleep. "Sharpay… one more thing and then you can sleep, come on."

Sharpay groaned and slowly removed her arm from around Martha. She took the cup from his hand, straightening up to drink its contents. She'd obviously heard what Adele had said, because she leaned forward carefully and spit out the water in the sink. "She'll be okay, now, right?" Lily asked once they'd managed to get her back over to a bed. Troy kept his hand near hers, standing protectively near her bed as she moved onto her side, her eyes closing again.

"Maybe. Maybe not. I'd hate to say it, but if she had taken drugs earlier today, they're most likely already working their way through her system."

"She wouldn't take drugs." Troy said automatically, knowing how true it was. The nurse shook her head carefully, her eyes on Sharpay. "It's the only thing I can think of that would make her like this. A number of drugs have side effects that, if mixed, could have caused her to lose her appetite. It explains the drowsiness, her slow motor skills..."

"One of you can stay here with her, but don't try to wake her up. She needs to sleep it off. The rest of you, back to your dorms." As if not wanting to deal with all of the drama and accusations surrounding the situation, Nurse Adele tightened her robe once more before going back up to her mini-apartment upstairs.

"Who's staying?" Lily asked out loud, staring straight at Troy. He smirked, amused at the obvious lack of answer needed to her question.

"Stay with me, Jimmie." Sharpay mumbled, her hand drowsily reaching out and hitting Troy's. Angela looked like she was about to laugh, her eyes went straight to Troy. Lily nudged her with her elbow. He shrugged it off. She was half asleep. She thought she was home. It didn't mean anything. "I have to tell you... about Troy…" She continued. Yep. _Definitely_ didn't mean anything. This time James actually laughed.

"Well, that solves that. Keep me updated. I'll make sure there's no evidence left." As he turned to walk out, Troy pulled over the old wooden chair next to the bed and sat down in it, letting Sharpay unconsciously palm at his hand for a few seconds before she managed to get her fingers in between his. He kept the wattage of his smile to a minimum, smoothing over her finger with his thumb. He looked up and saw Martha fighting her own smile.

"Cuuuuute." She squealed, almost breaking an octave. She turned and lifted her Curve into the air. "BBM me if she wakes up. Hey, Gabriella."

Troy's eyes narrowed instantly. He was in no mood. Was it wrong of him to think that this was all Gabriella's fault? She looked innocent. But then again…

Didn't she always?

/

"Is she alive?" Gabriella said, approaching the mattress at the other end of the infirmary where Sharpay lay unmoving, her hand in Troy's. She did her best not to appear bothered as she looked at Troy. "Do we know what happened?"

"_We _don't know anything except that she was drugged. What do _you _know?" Troy said pointedly.

"Why point fingers at me? Do you know how easy it is for anybody we deal with on a day to day basis to come across some Benadryl or Lexapro or something?"

Answer: Very easy. How else do you think she was able to get her hands on it?

"Be a little more specific, why don't you." Angela dared, her eyebrows raised.

"Sorry, would you like some more? Claritin and Adderall, Tylenol and Xanax, Ada-"

"_Alright, _Angela. Gabriella, your mom's a psychiatrist, we get it. Don't get feisty." Lily rolled her eyes and Gabriella's heart started to slow down. God, you mess with someone once and all of a sudden you're Public Enemy Number One. All she'd done was crack open a few mgs of antidepressant into her water bottle during Pilates that morning, and while she was in kickboxing… and a few capsules of Benadryl after lunch... And yes, so what if she cracked a few more into a cup and switched it with Sharpay's when no one was paying attention. So really, it was Martha's fault. She said she was watching Sharpay all day, didn't she? If she had done a better job, none of this would have happened. And it's not like Gabriella had wanted to kill her… she was supposed to pass out _before _the party. Not during. That was the whole idea of the pills, they were supposed to suppress her appetite and make her pass out. She didn't want her in the cafeteria. She didn't want her at the party. And she _definitely _didn't want her making out with Troy. The mess up just put more attention on her. And Gabriella hated when someone else was in the spotlight. Especially someone as unworthy as Sharpay Evans.

"I'm just saying." Gabriella blinked, hoping to look innocent. "Lily, if I had that sort of dosage on me, don't you think you would have noticed?"

Answer: No. Because you were off campus for breakfast when I got the package.

Lily seemed to contemplate this for a moment, pursing her lips slightly. "You're correct to assume that not much gets by without me noticing." Gabriella bit back her smirk. Score one for her. Angela blinked a few times, her eyelashes skimming the ends of her bangs. "Well who else hates Sharpay as much as you?"

Gabriella shrugged. "Jason?"

"Jason doesn't carry grudges." Troy called out almost instantly, defending his best friend. Gabriella looked over into his eyes. His annoyance only made his blue eyes darker and more attractive. Now if she could just get him to let go of Sharpay's hand. "He screwed with her during initiation. He has no other reason to take shots at her."

"Well he didn't seem too alarmed when he saw Sharpay's limp body, did he?"

"Mix in a few chugged cups of beer into his normally sardonic system and what do you expect? He's not exactly a knight in shining armor."

"Is that the category you put yourself in? White knight? Maybe Sharpay just wants to be saved, did you ever consider that?"

"No." Troy almost laughed. "Mainly because I have no idea what the hell that's even supposed to mean."

"Guys." Lily said in a soft but stern voice, nodding her head in Sharpay's direction. But Gabriella just kept her eyes locked with Troy's. She was already too annoyed. She didn't give a fuck if Sharpay woke up. Or didn't. Ever. " Think about it. She runs away from a dinner and no one knows where she goes- people start worrying about her. She makes a scene in the cafeteria- people start talking about her. She stops eating- people start worrying about her. She drinks- people worry about her. She passes out- are you catching the pattern here?"

"Shut up, Gabriella. You don't know what you're talking about."

She scoffed, ignoring how clearly bothered Troy was. If his blood weren't boiling he would never have said shut up. He'd been raised better than that, unlike the other neanderthals in this school. "Oh, don't I?"

"_Guys_." Lily said again, this time louder and enough to get Troy to look up at her and then back at Sharpay.

Gabriella set her lips in a straight line and glared at Troy. She looked over at Angela, who looked like she was silently laughing. _What the hell_? Then she got to Lily, who was staring at her forcefully with her blue eyes radiating a shit load of anger and irritation. She took a deep breath to steady herself, getting ready to face the monster inside Lily that she was about to set loose. "Prove me wrong. Please."

"Oh, you're such an idiot." Angela said in between breaths as she let out an actual laugh. She calmed down after a few seconds and started off towards the front door, her Costume National ankle boots tapping against the ground. "Please tell me how this pans out. If I stay I won't be able to conceal my laughter. The look on her face will be _far_ too priceless."

When Gabriella turned back to Lily, she appeared calm. But she knew that this was when she was at her worst. She conveyed her emotion with her words, not her facial expressions. Anybody who wasn't close to her wouldn't be able to tell the amount of frustration brewing in those dark blue irises. She titled her head. "What should I address first?" Gabriella dug her fingers into her palm. She'd asked for this. She knew it was coming. Why did Lily have to be so painfully amazing with dramatic pauses? She just stared, waiting for Lily continue with her rhetorical questions. "A, she didn't run away from the dinner. I personally picked up Sharpay from her dinner. The one you say she ran away from."

From the corner of her eye, Gabriella saw Troy shaking his head with a smile on his face, as if he'd just connected a two obvious puzzle pieces in his head. Lily continued, "She texted me and said she needed a ride. I was in town shopping with Brooke and we drove her back. She said Martha had some sort of plan with Troy that needed work."

"Attention wh-"

"Did I say I was finished?" Lily raised an eyebrow. Troy covered his mouth with his free hand. Gabriella could have sworn she drew blood when she retightened her knuckles, her fingernails piercing. Did everyone want Troy with Sharpay? She was from Albuquerque. Her mother worked in construction, for crying out loud. She wore _Free People_. The Mary Kate look was dead as a doorknob and yet she continued to walk around with her tunics and her fringe. God, she wanted to just throw all those boots away and get them away from her YSL Tributes. "_B_, she's never made a scene in the cafeteria. You're hallucinating. C, we were only watching what she drank because there was no food in her stomach. And, D and E, she stopped eating and passed out because someone slipped her some sort of medication. And I'll tell you right now; this defensive attitude is just reaffirming my belief that it was _you_. So if you know what's good for you, you'll stop interrupting me while I'm talking."

"Fine." Gabriella said through her teeth. "Anything else?"

"Just one more thing." Lily blinked, pausing for a few more seconds. "How'd you get your mother to send you the Adderall?"

Troy dropped his hand, his eyes wide. "I _knew _it. Did I not call that one? Forget taking over the hotel industry, I'm becoming a detective."

"Slow your roll, _Sherlock_, I didn't do it." Gabriella was amazed at how smoothly the words came out. If she hadn't known that she did it, she would have never guessed she did it… If that even made sense.

Luckily sociopaths don't have to make sense.

Lily's face didn't falter, but her eyelids dropped slightly. "Explain the package Angela says you got from your mother this morning."

"I think she's the one hallucinating. The only package I picked up this morning was from my father."

"What would your father be sending you?"

"Ever hear of a care package, Lily?"

"Montez, you are pulling the wrong strings right now. I can kick you out of Hale, you know. Lying is _against the rules_. Oh wait, that's right… you're not _in_ that group. I guess the rules don't apply then, do they?"

Gabriella felt her confidence crack in that one sentence. She'd been haunted by this ever since sophomore year. When she _hadn't_ been approached by a member of the underground society. The underground society that connected Eastwood and the three other main boarding schools in Connecticut- Cornwall Academy, Bethel Boarding, and Prospect Academy. A group full of the most promising students from each school were chosen- but only a select few were plucked from that group. Absolutely no one on the outside knew who was in the society. No one outside the society even knew the name of the society. It was the biggest inter-prep school secret known by the student community. Everyone wanted in. And the only reason Lily dared to mention it out loud to Gabriella was because she'd caught her eavesdropping a few weeks ago while she and James were discussing it. Gabriella had had to swear that she wasn't going to mention what she knew. Which was easy- because the only thing she had figured out was that James and Lily were both _in_. And that the society was based at Prospect Academy.

It killed Gabriella. Not being in. And it killed her even more that she didn't know who was and who wasn't. No one ever talked about it. Because you weren't supposed to. Lily would probably get kicked out if whoever led the society knew what she'd hinted at. Troy could be in it. Kelsi could be in it… It was even possible that that hoe Ryleigh Jasnic was in it. That's what killed her the most. That someone who wasn't in Hale but had a good family could get it. That probably meant that someone in Hale without a good family could get in. And that meant that Sharpay could be being surveyed right now. She could have already been tapped. She could already be _in_. No. She wasn't go to let that happen.

She'd rather die first.

She also hated that fighting with Lily right now could potentially ruin her chances at ever being reconsidered for admittance. "I didn't do it." She repeated, slower this time, mostly to keep herself from flipping out. Gabriella turned to Troy, who looked away from her and back at Sharpay. Great, now Troy thought she was trying to drug the girl he was so enthralled with. Well… she had been…

But he'd never know that.

"I think you need a major wake-up call, Gabriella." Lily spoke up, completely casual.

"Do you?" Gabriella asked. She was trying. But she was too pissed off right now to keep her cool. "What do you suggest?"

Troy smirked again and Lily pat his shoulder, never taking her eyes off her own. "First, you're going to show me that care package. And second, you'll clear out of 305 and enjoy your new view from the second floor.

Gabriella's jaw dropped so fast and hard it almost dislocated itself. She had to be kidding. No way Lily was evicting her from her own room. If anyone, it should be Sharpay. She still had an entire suitcase unpacked. "You're kidding me."

Lily smiled and walked around the bed. She stopped right next to Gabriella, her shoulder brushing against hers. Then she tilted her head towards Gabriella's ear. "You can manipulate Taylor and Martha. You can order Kelsi around. But you will _never_ be in a position to out rank me."

And then she straightened herself and walked out of the room.

/

Sharpay's mouth had never felt so dry in her life. She blinked her eyes open slowly. She was in the infirmary… _Again_. She should just bring her own pillow and comforter and mark a bed as her own. Only this time it was different. This time she couldn't remember why she was here. She remembered being the woods… and then nothing. Had she passed out or something? She didn't feel injured. Just very thirsty. She heard a noise and turned her head to see Troy slouched back in a wooden chair, his arm outstretched towards her, holding her hand. A smile broke out on her face immediately as a smell flew into her nostrils. Oh sweet molasses, it smelt like the bathroom in a bar… That wasn't her, was it? Sharpay lifted her unoccupied hand to mouth and blew a breath. _Please don't be me, please don't be me._ She sniffed in the air and nearly choked. Her other hand flew to her face, covering her mouth. Troy convulsed out of sleep, nearly sliding out of the chair before sitting up straight. He rubbed his eye with his knuckle before registering her in front of him and grinning. "Morning Sleeping Beauty."

Her smile was covered by her hands. Troy leaned back against the chair. "Feeling better?" Sharpay nodded. "Are you… not speaking?"

"Ull mell I reth." Sharpay mumbled, sitting up and crossing her legs, feeling constricted by the jeans. He let out a breathy laugh. "Sorry, I didn't catch that."

She lifted her hands half an inch away but still kept them in front of her mouth. No way was she letting Troy get a whiff. "I said 'You'll smell my breath'."

"I had to listen to you throw up last night. The breath isn't much of a comparison."

Sharpay closed her eyes and leaned her elbows on her legs, her head falling into her hands. "I got drunk, didn't I?"

"You don't remember?"

She opened an eye and turned her head in his direction, meeting his bluer eye. "Remember what? Did I make out with Jason or something?"

"In his dreams." He smirked. "Tell me what you remember."

"I remember playing Forest Fire? I think that was the name, anyway. And we were in the woods. And I was tired. And we…" She trailed off, her mind flooding back to the feeling of Troy's arms tightening around her back. His lips. "You know… and then Jason yelled 'time's up' and then… nothing."

"You don't remember waking up? James or Lily being here?" Sharpay thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. "No, I don't think so."

"Well, you passed out so we brought you back here. Nurse Adele gave you something to make you throw up. She said someone slipped you drugs." Troy looked like it pained him to think about her being drugged. Sharpay lit up internally. God, he was perfect. He didn't even have bed head- er- _chair_ head. "Do you remember anyone giving you anything? Did anything taste funny?"

"No… I mean, I can't…" Sharpay bit her lip, trying to make herself remember. But she couldn't. She remembered eating an omelet for breakfast. She remembered Troy and Gabriella kissing- although she really _really_ wished she could forget that. She remembered everything up to kissing Troy. Nothing after. Nothing until the smell of her breath a minute ago. "Maybe there was something in my breakfast?"

"That's it, Sharpay. You solved the mystery. The chef is out to get you." Troy smiled, his eyes playful. Sharpay leaned back against the bed, her hair falling around her face as her head met the pillow. She turned her head in his direction, grinning. "Not funny. I feel like I got hit by a truck... after trekking through the Sahara.. and then trampled by a camel. What time is it, anyway?"

Troy pulled his phone from his pocket, looked at it, and then set it on the table, where a full bottle of red Gatorade sat unopened. The condensation on the outside of the plastic told Sharpay Nurse Adele must have only placed it there moments before she'd woken up. It looked like heaven. "Eleven thirty-three." Answering her silent prayers, Troy poured out a cup, which had a convenient bendable plastic straw in it. Sharpay took it from his hand and slipped onto her stomach so that she could drink without sitting up or choking herself. A single beverage had never tasted so good in her life. "You've been out for more than twelve hours."

Sharpay sipped the water slowly, trying to savor it before Troy refilled it, without her even having to ask. Did she mention he was perfect? "You haven't been here the whole time, have you?"

He nodded, his hair falling in front of his eyes as he put the bottle back on the table. "Actually, no, sorry, I got up once to use the bathroom. Nature called."

Sharpay smiled and gazed up at him. She could look into his eyes all day. They were so ridiculously bright and dreamy that if she had to choose them or the sunset she was choose his eyes. "I'll let you off the hook seeing as you had to sleep in that god-awful looking chair."

Troy lifted his arms and looked down at the armrests before shrugging. "I was only sleeping for a few hours. I stayed up, listening to you talk in your sleep for a while after Lily left."

Sharpay didn't like how he smiled as he added that last sentence. She didn't know she talked in her sleep… no one had ever told her that. Not her mom, or Jimmie, or any of her other friends. She swirled the straw around the plastic cup. "Don't tell me what I said, just tell me how embarrassing."

"Oh, it wasn't anything embarrassing." He said slowly before a sly grin lifted the corner of his mouth. "So tell me, are my eyes _really_ as dreamy as you make them sound?"

Before he could see her face light up like Rudolph's nose, she buried it into the pillow.

/

"I don't see what you have to be ashamed about. I think it's cute."

"You _would_."

"Oh, come on." Troy grinned, nudging Sharpay's arm with his own. Nurse Adele had come over and checked on Sharpay after she had turned a violent shade of red. She'd released her, telling her to drink a lot of fluids. Sharpay had opposed by saying she just wanted to eat… and eat and eat. Well, that would certainly kill anyone's anorexia suspicions. While she went back to Hale to shower, Troy had gone to Stuart to do the same. Now they were walking towards the cafeteria, fresh breathed and redressed.

"No, _come on_. I thought I was speaking to Jimmie. You weren't supposed to hear about how dreamy I think your eyes are."

"Or how 'perfectly unkempt' my hair is…"

Sharpay shook head, blushing as she tugged his grey sweatshirt tighter around her. She tried to hurry up the steps to the cafeteria, but he easily kept up with her. She pulled at the brass door handle and looked back at him as he lifted his hand to hold it open. "Or how my lips taste like cinnamon candy- don't forget that one, it's my favorite."

"I hate you." She countered, a smile on her face as she stepped into the room.

Sharpay hadn't been kidding when she'd said all she wanted to do was eat. She was placing a fourth piece of the french toast brunch on her plate when Troy started laughing. "The food will still be there when you finish your first helping, I promise."

Sharpay smiled and dropped the plastic dealing spatula. "I haven't eaten since yesterday. I have a lot of calories to catch up with."

"Aren't you supposed to be worried about gaining weight and your thighs and that other crap girls complain about." He scanned over the drinks, pulling out a plastic bottle of orange juice.

"Weight schmeight." She sing-songed, taking two small pre-packaged cups of syrup.

Troy stared, the bottle being held out in her direction. Was Sharpay really a girl? If so, she was amazing. "Marry me." He said plainly.

Sharpay laughed this time, taking the juice from his hand. She looked up at him for a few seconds and Troy felt himself counting the strands of color in her eyes. She broke eye contact first, her cheeks flushing. She lifted her head and smiled. "Talk to me in a few years."

He turned as stared at her in amazement while she walked back to the table, thinking about how very much he was going to take her up on that offer. He grabbed a juice for himself and made his way back to the table, where Ryan was asking Sharpay how she was feeling.

"Fine, thanks." Sharpay smiled, opening up one of the syrups and pouring it over her toast.

"So what'd I miss last night after I left?" Martha said, turning away from Zeke and looking at Troy.

Troy looked over at Gabriella, who raised an eyebrow, challenging him to bring up her and Lily's fight last night. Well, who was Troy to turn down such a challenge? "Gabriella's moving." He said, turning back to Martha.

"_What?_" Kelsi stopped, looking up at Troy as if she just realized he and Sharpay were there. "You're kidding me."

"God, I help stay for clean-up and I miss _everything_." Jason whined from across the table. Ryan snickered a laugh. Kelsi smacked him with the back of her hand. "What do you mean 'moving'?"

"He doesn't mean anything, because I'm not going anywhere." Gabriella said defiantly, sitting up straighter in her chair.

Troy smirked, wanting to turn around and tap Lily's shoulder. He didn't care what anybody said. Gabriella messed with Sharpay. He knew it. "Want to bet?"

Gabriella tilted her head, looking over at Sharpay and then back at Troy. He was growing increasingly more irritated with her just being this close. He wanted to go back to yesterday morning, not kiss her, and then come back to the present. He felt dirty just thinking about getting that close to her now. "Fine. If I haven't left my room by dinner, Sharpay moves."

"What?" Sharpay stuttered, swallowing what was in her mouth. "Troy, I don't-"

"Don't worry." He said, leaning back and giving her a reassuring smile. "You're not going anywhere."

Troy enjoyed the rest of lunch, while Gabriella kept silent to herself, every so often saying something to Kelsi. He was free to talk to Sharpay as much as he wanted without Jason breathing down his neck. It was nice. This was how it was supposed to be. More than the normal few students looked up as their table got up when they were all finished eating. Girls leaned towards their friends, covering their mouths as they whispered secrets and started rumors. They all watched as Troy and Sharpay walked side by side towards the door.

"I think people are talking about us." Sharpay said softly in his direction. Troy looked around and shrugged before settling his arm around his shoulders. She leaned into his side comfortably, her hand gently grasping at the back of his long sleeved Ralph Lauren polo. He smiled a little wider. "Might as well make the gossip interesting."

Neither of them felt Gabriella's eyes shooting daggers in their backs.

/

Gabriella kept a solid five steps between her and Sharpay while they climbed the steps. She was giddily telling Martha about something she'd told Troy while she was sleepwalking or something. Whatever. She didn't want to hear Sharpay's voice. She'd rather trip her down the staircase. She tried to tune the two of them out, wishing Kelsi hadn't opted to hang out with Ryan instead of walking with her back to the dorm. If Kelsi had been here she probably would have been paying attention. If Kelsi was here she probably wouldn't have ran straight into Sharpay's back as she stopped a few steps past the doorframe to their room.

"It's called walking, Albuquerque, try it." Gabriella rolled her eyes and pushed past her. It took her a moment to realize what was in front of her. Or rather, what _wasn't._ Everything from her side of the room had been cleared out. Her eight hundred thread count lavender sheets with matching down comforter. Her laptop. Her books. Her side of the closet was probably cleared out, too. She was too stunned to go and check it. She immediately turned and faced Sharpay, who was standing there confused. Her light brown eyes met hers and Gabriella felt like she was going to blow a gasket. "What the _fu-_"

Lily seemed to come out of nowhere, placing a hand around Sharpay's shoulders. "Lan_guage_, Gabriella. Why go and soil Sharpay's nice, clean room with that dirty word."

"What do you mean _Sharpay's room_? I've been here since the semester started, you can't just move me."

"Lily, really," Sharpay said softly. "She doesn't have to-"

"Yes she does, Sharpay. She knows what she did and she knew this was coming." Her blue eyes seemed to be mocking her. Gabriella pressed her nails into her palm once more. "See, G, when I heard Sharpay leave for lunch, I noticed you hadn't moved like I'd asked you to." Gabriella shook her head, the fury building inside of her. _Asked. HA. Is that was you called threatening?_ Lily pulled her arm back and stepped back towards the bathroom that connected this room with her own. "So I had some people come and help me do it for you. You're in a single now. 203."

Gabriella waited to Lily to shut her side of the bathroom's door before taking a few steps towards Sharpay,

"You might have my room. You might have Lily on your side. But you will _not_ take my status. And you will, without doubt, _not_ take Troy Bolton."

"I'd hate to break it to you." Sharpay smiled, shrugging a shoulder. "But I think I already did."

Gabriella narrowed her eyes. "We'll see about that." She turned and left Sharpay as her smile dropped, pulling the door shut behind her with a slam. Sharpay would not out-rise her. She'd fight Sharpay to the death if it meant having Troy. Sharpay was not going to live to see a day as Troy Bolton's girlfriend.

And she'd make sure of it.


	19. InSEXts

It was easily the best night of sleep Sharpay had ever gotten. At Eastwood, anyway. She wasn't even groggy when it came to the blasting horn of her alarm coming from her iHome that she had strategically placed on her desk so that she'd actually have to get out of bed to shut it off. Only once she was out of the protection of her warm blankets did it hit her- the air, that is. She almost jumped back under the fleece blanket. Seemed like fall was finally deciding to make an entrance. It didn't help that she'd only slept in a pair of Victoria's Secret Pink capris and a long sleeve thermal. But how was she supposed to know that the nice warm air would be gone by morning? She held her arms around her body as she felt a strong breeze blow into her. She turned to the culprit and shivered. She was pretty sure the window had been closed last night. She looked back for a moment at the empty bed that was once Gabriella's, the desk, the dresser, the bed-side table, and it was obvious who'd opened the window. Sharpay shook her head, walking over and pulling down the glass, shivering as one last puff of cold air was let in through the pane. Was that Gabriella's plan? To freeze her to death in her sleep? Well, she'd have to try harder than that.

Not that she wanted her to.

The sound of someone else's alarm ran through the thin walls as Sharpay looked out through the glass. She leaned a shoulder against the dresser and stared. Almost directly across the wide green grass, divided by a sleek driveway that ran up to the admission's hall and back, was Stuart. Was Troy. She started to wonder if he was awake, where his room was, if he could look out and see Hale. That last thought made her self conscious as she straightened up and tucked a stray piece of bed-head blonde behind her ear. Thankfully she was a take-a-shower-at-night type of person, so she could spend the half hour she had before breakfast figuring out what she would wear today. The sun was barely brightening the sky as she pulled open a dark mahogany drawer and stared.

"I never had this problem at home." Sharpay mumbled, pushing the door shut and walking over to the closet, sliding the door open. She rifled through the loosely packed hangers one by one, wondering which dress would match with which shoes. Which tunic would match with which stockings. Her mind suddenly went back to Troy. What would he be wearing? Would he like what she wore? It was like eighth grade all over again and she was trying to figure out with bathing suit would make Jimmie think she was cute at his birthday party.

Her hand stopped on a dark green tunic. She pulled it off the rack and held it in front of her, remembering how Troy said green was his favorite color. Biting the inside of her cheek, she realized it was a bad choice and replaced it- it was short sleeves, and she'd neglected to buy a coat. She couldn't be messy and wear a sweatshirt… unless she wanted to make a statement… a statement that said 'I'm too poor to buy a wool coat like every other prep school student'. She'd have to wear a cardigan. Or maybe she should just wear jeans. She wanted to wear warm boots… but her black Uggs were still a mess from the last time she'd worn them. Overwhelmed, she decided she'd brush her teeth first, put on her mascara, and _then_ stress out over clothes. Besides, if she only had five minutes left to get dressed, she'd have to choice but to pick whichever outfit she found first. And luckily, her hurriedly-put-together looks usually didn't come out looking half bad.

Everyone has special talents.

Yet another alarm rang from somewhere across the hall as Sharpay placed a hand on the closed door to the bathroom and turned, taking a step in. It took a few seconds before her fingers finally found the light switch, and she winced at the sudden brightness of the light bulbs reflecting off of the wide mirror, the pale blue tile, and the light gold walls. Her ears heard a muffled grunt as she realized the door in front of her was open- Lily's door to the conjoined bathroom. _Shit_. She took three giant tip-toes, her hands ready to quietly push the door shut when- "New Girl."

Sharpay cringed, frozen. She wasn't sure if it was because she'd awoken Lily or because Lily had called her _New Girl_. It was probably both. Her morning voice still sounded angelic, though. Melodic and powerful. She peaked her head inside of Lily's bedroom, darker than her own because of the dark blue curtains drawn across the window. Was it her, or was this room almost always completely dark whenever she was in it? Was there even a lamp in here? It didn't take long for her brown eyes to land on Lily, who was now sitting up in her bed, her finger rubbing at the corner of her eyes. Her dark hair was pulled back into a purposefully messy bun at her neck, and a few loose strands fell around her heart-shaped face. Sharpay was jealous. Here she was looking like the Grinch when Lily looked like she was ready to do a Vogue shoot on satin sleepwear.

"I'm sorry, Lily, I didn't realize your door was open, I should've checked-"

"Relax." Lily said softly, lifting her hand up in Sharpay's direction, telling her to take a breath- which she did. "I don't admit to much, but I do confess to occasionally forgetting things. Like closing doors for example. At least you don't wake up as early as Gabriella."

Sharpay bit the corner of her lip, unsure of what to say. Lily reached back and pulled the tie from her hair, her perfectly straight, un-dented hair falling atop her shoulders. She glanced back at the clock on the table near her bed, a slight grimace on her face when she met Sharpay's eyes again. "How anybody gets up before 6:30 is beyond me."

"I'll, um, let you go back to sleep then."

"Appreciated. And if you tell anyone what I look like before breakfast, you'll wake up to pictures of you and your Sailor Moon costume mishap circulating Stuart by lunch." She continued, a slight hint of a teasing in her voice. Enough to make Sharpay smile, but not enough to make her think she was joking. She was too intimidated to even ask how she knew about those pictures. She turned; ready to push the door shut and finish getting ready. "And Sharpay?"

She looked up, the doorknob gripped steadily in her hand. A glance back into the bedroom told Sharpay Lily was now lying back down against the mattress. "Yeah?"

"Don't wake me up again."

/

_OH, SHIT, SHAKE THAT ASS MA. MOVE IT LIKE A-_

"Please, Jason, make that alarm a little louder, will you?"

_HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT YOU WERE O-O-OVER ME-_

"Shut up, dude, yours is just as loud. What the fuck kind of music is that anyway?"

NOW LET ME SEE YA HIPS-

_ALONE, CAUSE I'M DAMNED IF-_

"Just turn it off," Troy grumble-shouted, pulling his iPod out of its dock and dropping it on the dresser. Troy was as into mornings as Jason was into being monogamous. The day he woke up without feeling groggy was the day Jason would find a girl he wanted to be with for more than a week. He sat up, blinking his eyes open as he looked across at Jason, who was looking down at something on his phone. He dropped it on his bed and locked eyes with his roommate. "Is that your broodish get-over-Tiara soundtrack or something?"

"_No_, I had it on shuffle." Troy glared, not up to defending his position on Tiara this early in the morning. It was only 6:40. Let the sun rise, for Christ's sake. No need to place all of his emotions into a conveniently lyriced All Time Low song. "Sorry I don't prefer to wake up to music about shaking asses."

"I need a new ring tone, I'll give you that." Jason yawned, throwing his navy sheets off his legs and standing up. As warm as it was in the dorm, Troy always wondered how he managed to stay comfortable sleeping without a shirt on. "I call shower first."

"Go for it, I showered last night." He countered, falling back into his forest green pillow.

"Ryan, you girl, get out of the shower." Jason yelled through the closed bathroom door, the bathroom that connected his and Troy's room to Ryan's single. Three boys. One shower. He turned back to Troy, gripping his dark brown hair and pulling it forward into a fohawk. "There's a reason only chicks exfoliate. It takes too fucking long."

Troy smirked, rubbing the last traces of sleep from his eyes. "Not everyone's blessed with porcelain skin like you, Jason."

"If he weren't dating Kelsi, I'd swear he was gay."

"Not gay, Cross." Ryan said coolly, pulling open their door, holding a towel around his waist with one hand and ruffling the water out of his hair with the other. Troy forced himself to sit up, figuring he might as well get dressed. A picture of Sharpay randomly flashed through his mind, remembering that last time he'd woken up from sleep. He might have been snoozing in an old wooden chair, but he'd woken up holding Sharpay's hand. Somehow that made it ten times better. Then a picture of Tiara flashed through his mind. From last May, a few days before the last day of school. She'd snuck into Pryce and slept over- keeping it strictly PG. PG-13 if you counted the tongue battle that had taken before Jason had come in and stopped it, saying he wanted to sleep without hearing them. The memory was foggy, though. Like it was from way longer than only six months ago.

Jason slid past the blonde into the bathroom and pat him on the chest twice, the audible smacking noise against Ryan's wet skin making Troy wince. "Then I could tell you your bod's looking mighty fine and you wouldn't be turned on?"

Ryan looked over at Troy and shook his head. "And I'm supposed to be the gay one."

Troy laughed and stood up, walking over to his dresser and bending down to reach one of the bottom drawers. He grabbed a pair of jeans, not caring which ones they were and threw them over onto his bed. Then he opened another drawer and grabbed a plain long sleeved shirt. He was about to close the drawer when a thought crossed his mind. Today wasn't just any day. Today was… well… different. He felt slightly inclined to make sure he looked good. To him it wasn't just another Monday. It was Monday- two days after he made out with Sharpay, one day after they'd went and publicly been… affectionate. Was that the right word? _Was there _even a right word? They'd had their arms around each other leaving the cafeteria at lunch. They'd sat very closely next to each other in the library doing French homework with Ryan. He'd kissed her goodnight on the steps after dinner- at which he'd sworn he'd heard someone gasp. He'd pulled away to see more than a dozen wide eyes staring at them. When Sharpay had noticed, she'd walked away with Martha blushing like crazy. The word adorable came to mind.

He dropped the shirt into the drawer and walked over to the closet instead, the door was already open, and Troy contemplated the day while he went over what he had hung up- a jacket, a few sweatshirts, and a plethora of dress shirts for various events he had to attend for his parents- some against his will. He pulled a brown plaid shirt off its hanger. It would have to do. Plus, it was flannel, and according to last night's weather forecast, the fall air was finally supposed to be setting in. He always found himself warm without the aid of a sweatshirt, anyway. The New York winters had prepared him for New England falls. He dropped the shirt on his bed, next to his jeans, and pulled off the guinea tea he'd passed out in after showering last night. This time, only a picture of Sharpay flashed through his mind as he walked back to his dresser to grab an undershirt. And he smiled.

/

As Sharpay suspected, both the common room and outside on the steps of Hale were gorgeous girls in their gorgeous wool coats. The second she was near the bottom of the staircase, Martha came sauntering over in her three-inch grey heels, a red dress peaking out from underneath a grey coat that stopped just below her hips. She looked Sharpay up and down, her light blonde eyebrows furrowed together. "Aren't you going to be cold? I freeze without a jacket in any weather under sixty-five degrees." It was no surprise. She looked like she was 90 pounds. A tropical breeze probably gave her goose bumps.

Sharpay looked down. Sure, she'd probably be cold. But she'd pull a Tim Gunn and make it work. Didn't they always say 'fashion knows not of comfort' or something like that? Well, today's outfit was definitely leaning on that statement. Her plain grey skirt only hit her mid-thigh and the ruffled sweater she'd ordered from Free People wasn't exactly thick or warm despite the long sleeves. She put a grey camisole underneath the navy fabric and topped it with a dark grey, surprisingly thick and warm, sweater. She'd also secretly fit three pairs of socks atop her sheer patterned tights and under her suede Ash booties. If anything, her feet would be warm. She'd been more focused on trying to look cute for Troy than anything else, anyway. If he thought she looked good then she could handle what little time she'd been spending outside.

She shrugged and looked back at Martha. "It doesn't really get super cold at home. I'm trying to test out how much cold air I can take before I buy a winter coat."

Martha's blinked a few times. "You don't own a winter coat?"

Sharpay smiled sheepishly, "It's sitting in a box in Manhattan."

"You bought yourself enough adorable clothes to last you until next semester, but you neglected to buy a coat?"

"That blonde dye must have affected her common sense." Gabriella said smoothly, walking down the steps and moving past Sharpay. She turned and looked at both of the girls in front of her. "Both of you should really be careful. Bleach does nothing to help split ends."

"Don't hate because Troy prefers his girls blonde, Gabriella." Martha rolled her hazel eyes.

Kelsi slid past Sharpay as well, followed by Taylor. Sharpay took the quick moment of silence to glance at each of them. Taylor had a black coat tied loosely around her waist. Kelsi wear wearing a form-fitting cowl neck sweater, no coat, but her matching black over-the-knee Sergio Rossi boots looked like they would do a good job at keeping her warm. Gabriella's Brian Reyes coat was buttoned, and a floral skirt fell just above her knees. She always looked so put together. But Sharpay guessed that it was just her chosen style. Classic meets… president's daughter.

"You dye your hair?" Taylor spoke, her dark eyes examining Sharpay's roots. "Looks amazing."

"I'm a natural blonde, actually, thanks." Sharpay met Gabriella's glare, purposely running her fingers through her loosely curled hair. For a moment she felt like she was in an Herbal Essences commercial. She just wanted to whip her across the face with her hair. It was long enough… she probably could… Hm…

Another ime.

"Gabriella knows we are. She just currently doesn't have anything else in her armory to fire at Sharpay with."

Sharpay grinned, finally getting off the steps, wanting to hug Martha. Tiny really packed a punch. Gabriella raised an eyebrow. "Why waste all my ammunition so early in the morning?"

"Guys are here." Kelsi announced, out of context, stopping the conversation. "Let's go."

"Convenient." Martha said in a low voice, mainly to Sharpay.

"How's the view from the second floor, Montez? Hope you're comfortable."

"The view of the forest? It's fantastic, really." Gabriella's voice was cheery as she looked up at Lily, but Sharpay could tell there was a flood of hate wanting to rush out from behind her tight-lipped smile.

Lily stopped just in front of Gabriella before she looked at Sharpay and held out her purse. "Hold this a minute, will you?" Sharpay looked over at Martha, and then at a smirking Gabriella before taking the Marc Jacobs from Lily's fingers. She wasn't about to be the one to say no to Lily- who looked _way_ better than any person should this early in the morning. Especially for only waking up ten minutes ago- which is when Sharpay finally heard a muffled alarm sound come from her bedroom. It was unfair. After she slipped her arms into a cream-colored pea coat, Lily reached out for the black leather handle, taking it without a thank you.

Sharpay gulped quietly. Was she mad she'd woken her up this morning? Was she one of those people who didn't say thank you? Was she hazing her with bad manners or something? She shook it off. She was treating Gabriella rude, too… even though _she _actually deserved it. As if Martha could read her mind, she snuck her hand into the crook of Sharpay's elbow and pulled her towards the door. "Come on. Let's go eat."

"Took you long enough." Jason whined, pushing away from the steps he was leaning against while Sharpay and Martha descended them. The footsteps behind them told Sharpay that Gabriella and her drones were behind them. "I texted you two minutes ago."

"It was barely a minute, Jason." Kelsi corrected as her fingers intertwined with Ryan's and he pressed a solid kiss on her cheekbone. Sharpay stopped on the cobblestones and Gabriella pushed past her, nearly knocking her back. Sharpay stuck her arm out in an attempt to steady herself, which worked, until she stepped backwards and the heel of her boot snagged into a crack in the mostly-smoothed out pathway and she stumbled. A warm hand grabbed hers and her fingers reflexively tightened. "Come on, before he has a heart attack." Gabriella ordered, rolling her brown eyes as if she hadn't almost just gotten Sharpay's face acquainted with the cement staircase.

It was only once she was righted that Sharpay's eyes locked with Troy's. Her guardian angel had come to the rescue yet again. She wanted to say something witty, perhaps joke about her clumsiness, but her mind might as well have been wiped clean. God only knew how ridiculous she probably looked, staring hopelessly into his eyes. "Thanks," was the only word she could manage.

/

Troy grinned down at Sharpay. Part of him wanted to turn and glare at Gabriella who was probably smirking her prissy ass off, but he couldn't bring himself to. He found himself entranced. "Don't worry about it."

He wasn't sure how long they stood there staring at each other, those few seconds felt like minutes, before Ryan nudged him with his elbow as he passed. "Let's go, love birds."

Sharpay looked down, her cheeks turning rosy, pulling her hand back from his. A breeze flew between them, hitting Troy's hand like a glacier. His skin ached for the contact. What sort of spell had she cast on him? The smile was wiped away when Gabriella's irritated voice trampled his thoughts. "Hello?"

He turned and found her brown eyebrow cocked at him. "Yes, princess?"

Her jaw clenched and Kelsi and Ryan stopped walking, observing the exchange of words with their hands firmly tightened around each other's. Troy was jealous- of their hand holding, not of Kelsi. Not that she wasn't intimidating gorgeous, but he couldn't deal with her constant texting. It was rude and bad manners. He preferred face-to-face communication. Gabriella hiked her purse onto her shoulder and glared at Troy. For some reason or another he found her emotion hysterical and a smile spread across his face. "You're holding up breakfast."

Troy looked over at Sharpay, who looked up at him, tilting her head slightly. "How dare you, Troy."

He grinned a little wider. "Sorry. I didn't realize how long it would take her to eat a whole cup of yogurt."

"That's not funny. She eats blueberries too, Troy."

"You're right, at ten berries, three chews each can really be time crunchers." He looked back up to a fuming Gabriella- on the surface, seemingly normal, but the way her eyes had visibly darkened, Troy knew she was pissed. To congratulate himself on the accomplishment, he let his arm wrap around Sharpay's sweater-covered shoulders and felt a little warmer as she leaned into his side, her fingers lightly touching the back of his shirt. It may as well have been spring. "We'll lead the way."

/

Sharpay leaned her elbows on the table, trying to cover her smile as Troy tapped his knee against hers. They'd been doing this for about twenty minutes- basically since they'd sat down to each lunch. Every nudge was like a little bolt of lightning. "What are you smirking at, Blondie, you're freaking me out."

She looked up at Kelsi, dropping her hands and encircling them around her water bottle. "Nothing." She could almost see Troy smirking from the corner of her eye, but afraid she'd give their little game away, he didn't turn to look at him fully. Even thought she _really_ wanted to. She'd been smiling giddily ever since this breakfast. But who could blame her, really? Troy's arm had been permanently attached to her in between every class up to now. More partner work in French meant sitting next to he and Ryan and dazing off when he would speak in French. Nolan's Italian was absolutely nothing compared to it. There wasn't even a competition- even though Troy mixed up more than a few words. So what if French wasn't his best subject? She'd gladly tutor him. He could pay her in kisses. Mm… kisses.

A test in Lit meant strictly sneaking glances when Ms. Darbus was looking the other way. She felt like they were having their own little secret tryst. Which in a way they were, Sharpay reasoned. Besides the arm-on-shoulder thing, no one really saw their exchanges. Except last night… when he'd kissed her in front of the cafeteria. But it was on her cheek. So technically, it didn't count. And Ryan could put his arm around Sharpay's shoulder, but it didn't mean he liked her. The same with sitting close to him- she sat close to her cousin, but she wasn't about ready to play a game of tonsil hockey with _him_. Which brought up the other topic on her mind… Was Troy embarrassed of her? His knee touched hers and another surge of warmth went through her. She decided to put that thought aside… for now. She shrugged across the table, nudging back Troy's knee. "Just enjoying Jason's story."

This was a horrible lie. Jason was talking about some girl he'd hooked up with during the summer. It was amusing, sure, but who was honestly listening to it? Everyone else seemed to just be nodding his or her head and letting him talk. Martha would occasionally throw in a few words, but Sharpay thought it was only to be polite. "Mm." Kelsi mumbled, leaning back in her chair and exchanging a glance with Gabriella.

"-bit like Tiara, actually." For some reason or another, Sharpay's head turned in Jason's direction, her hands like a vice around her water.

"Maybe it was her. Maybe she's dropped out of school to live full time at her St. Bart's home." Taylor didn't even lift her eyes from her book. She turned the page casually. How could she read and carry a conversation like that? "I would if my dad had a house like that."

"It's her step-dad's, actually." Martha corrected after swallowing the white cheddar popcorn in her mouth.

"Now I ain't sayin' she's a gold digga'…" Gabriella started.

"Mrs. Gold – Holmes is not a gold digger, Gabriella." Troy's voice was scoldingly monotone. Sharpay turned to look at him, looking at Gabriella. He shook his head, his hair fell in front of his face but he made no attempt to move it. "She's just as rich, if not more so, than Michael is."

"She's not here, Troy, you don't have to defend her."

"I'd defend her regardless of her location. The table is no place to be discussing finances, anyway."

Sharpay waited until Troy turned away and looked back at her. His expression softened slightly and he shook the hair from his eyes. He turned and looked down at the table, suddenly very interested in his Doritos. So _that_ was it… maybe Troy was still feeling things in Tiara's direction and wasn't sure if he wanted another girlfriend yet. It did make sense. And it was the most reasonable thing Sharpay could think of.

"Even I've got more class than to bring that up, G." Jason smirked, please with himself as he stared across the table.

Ryan lifted a finger, pointing nowhere in particular. "Now, _that's _saying something." Everyone laughed a little at this, except for Gabriella of course.

"Shut _up_, Ryan, really."

"Gabriella." Kelsi said, looking over her phone at her friend. "Stop it."

"At least I know I'm not disguising my feelings for her by canoodling with someone else." She mumbled, eyebrows raised.

"Canoodle…" Chad laughed to himself.

"I'm not disguising anything." Troy said strongly, looking up again. He would have looked intimidating had it not been for the cheesy tortilla chip in his hand. "And I'll _canoodle_ with whoever I want. Don't bitch at me because you're upset I kissed you to make Sharpay jealous."

Sharpay's eyes widened. Troy… being rude… She rarely saw this. And it was obvious that no one was expecting Troy to say what he did, because they froze and stared at him. He looked away from Gabriella for a moment, taking in all the eyes before letting out a sigh. "Yes." He said in Gabriella's direction. "It was wrong of me to do and I apologize. But you guys sit around and pull worse crap than that all the time. I regret sinking to her level of childish behavior but it was something that needed to be done." She was starting to think it was a lost cause with Troy- but while he paused, he tapped her knee again, causing her to bite down on the inside of her cheek. "I'm ashamed, yes, but not about to go and take it back."

"Amen, brother." Jason said automatically, clapping his hands and leaning back on the legs of his chair.

"Well," Gabriella started in a bitter tone. "As long as you're happy."

Sharpay watched Troy's lips curve into a smirk. He nodded and dropped his hands to his lap, still leaning towards the table. She was ready to believe he was uncharacteristically going to wipe his hands on his jeans until his knuckle brushed against her lower thigh. Her elbow hit the table in surprise, a delightful chill running up her spine thinking it was accidental. She glanced over at him, covering her mouth with her fingers again to conceal the happily confused smile on her face. His blue eyes were half innocent, half yes-I-meant-to-do-that. She felt his fingers again, except this time he didn't pull away at once. Instead two of his fingers tapped lightly and rhythmically, burning into her skin and sending a rush of warmth to her chest. She pulled her other hand away from her water and tried to casually pull it under the table. She pressed her fingers firmly on top of Troy's, trying to get them to stop moving- not because she didn't enjoy it, but because she was going to turn fire engine red if he continued. He just sat and smiled to himself, like that's what he had wanted the whole time. She turned her head in Martha's direction, trying to hide her beaming and blushing face from him.

She slowly removed her hand from his, but he didn't remove his. "_Very_, actually."

/

Troy was finding it increasingly more annoying that he had to sit all the way across the room from Sharpay in Euro. Sharpay was finding it increasingly more annoying that she hadn't chosen to sit in the empty desk next to Troy. Gabriella was finding it increasingly more annoying to watch them smiling across the open space at each other.

Every. Five. Seconds.

Was it really necessary? Couldn't they wait until she wasn't around to send secret little messages through their eyes? She was going to vomit all over her chapter test if she had to see them from the corner of her eye one more time... She colored in another answer bubble with her pencil, the led almost breaking from her hard, annoyed scribbling. Sharpay looked up again, first at Mr. Daniels, correcting another class's work at his desk, and then over at Troy. And because Troy had handed in his test already, he had nothing better to do than to sit there and waste that precious time staring at her. Gabriella suddenly had other ideas of what she wanted to do with her pencil. She was going to A. Stab Sharpay in the eye with it (she'd never stab Troy, his eyes were far too beautiful) or B. Stab _herself_ in the eye so she wouldn't have to watch them. A was the option she was leaning towards at the moment. One more day and she wouldn't have to see Sharpay for a whole five days. Five days of nothing but her, her home, and her grandmother's secret pumpkin pie recipe. Not a Free People tunic in sight. It was going to be heaven.

Until she had to come back to school and deal with the tan devil that was Sharpay Evans.

Gabriella had never hated coming to school before. Hating school was for outsiders and public school students. Eastwood was her kingdom. Here she had purpose… She had people who envied her, who feared her. Now instead of looking forward to secret parties and all her friends she had to deal with Lily breathing down her neck and people constantly defending some blonde pip-squeak. What had her beautiful school turned into?

"You have about a minute left to finish up." Mr. Daniels announced. Normally Gabriella would have melted a little bit at the sound of his accent, but today she was just not in the mood. "Papers on my desk when the bell rings. No exceptions."

Gabriella pushed herself up from her seat, moving around her desk in a manner that blocked Troy's view of Sharpay. He looked up at her, cocky and amused, and she rolled her eyes. _God_, Sharpay was slowly turning everyone against her. Two weeks ago, Troy was practically her best friend. And now every time he looked at her, he was either smirking or glaring. Being moody was her thing. How dare he take that from her. She loved him, though, so she dealt with it. This was just a phase he was going through- an I-like-the-new-girl phase. It would pass. And besides, couples fight. She and Troy were just going through a rough patch in their relationship.

She grabbed her essay and placed it on top of her test, turning towards the teacher's desk where someone was stapling her own essay. Gabriella rolled her eyes. _Who else_. Sharpay put her papers on the top of the pile and turned around. She hesitated a moment before holding the black stapler out to her. "Here you go," she smiled. Gabriella felt her brown eyes go right over her cashmere-covered shoulder and lock with Troy's. _Oh God, _enough_ already_. She narrowed her eyes and plucked it from Sharpay's horrific, unmanicured fingers.

As soon as Gabriella turned back to her seat, the bell echoed through the hallways and throughout the building. She slid her arms into her coat, leaving it unbuttoned as students poured into the hallway. As could have been predicted, Sharpay stopped in front of Troy as he leaned against the wall across the door. Martha seemed more than happy to walk to her next class by herself, giving Sharpay no reason to get away from Troy. Jason was no help either, as he and Nolan strolled right past the two without saying a word. Gabriella grabbed Taylor's elbow, yanking her back a few steps as she walked out of the door. She stood there, just outside the door, nodding her head in the direction of Troy and Sharpay. "Do you see that?"

Taylor looked over casually and nodded. "Yes. And?"

"And? And it has to stop."

"Why? He hasn't been this happy in months. Why ruin it?"

"Because she's unsuitable."

"He obviously doesn't mind, Gabriella."

"You _don't get it_, Taylor. She's probably just using Troy to gain some popularity. She's manipulative. She's even got Lily turned against me. She's slowly destroying our once-harmonious sisterhood."

Right. And _Sharpay _was the manipulator.

"Well… I mean…" Taylor stammered, meaning she was slowly mulling this over in her head. Gabriella smiled triumphantly. Bingo. "What exactly am I supposed to do?"

Across the hall, Troy reached forward, taking Sharpay's hand with a smile on his face. Blondie looked up at him like a Who on Christmas Day. There was a short exchange of words that Gabriella would have died to hear before they took off down the hall in the opposite direction. She stood there, glaring helplessly at their entwined fingers. "I don't care what you have to do. And I don't care how you do it. Just get. Her out. Of my school."

"Gabri-"

"You're a smart girl." Gabriella interrupted, patting Taylor's shoulder a little harder than necessary. "You'll figure something out."

/

Most guys spend most of their time thinking about sex. Troy Bolton did not consider himself, and was often told that he was not, 'most guys'. And it was hard to stay strong on this fact when Jason and Nolan turned to your lab table and started discussing it. Their normal teacher had decided to take his Thanksgiving break two days early, leaving a substitute and surprisingly easily completable 'busy work' to do, leaving around an hour of free time for the students to do and talk about whatever they felt like. Troy shook his head as Zeke said something about an ill-fitting condom.

"Dude, that shit's important. If it's not all the way on there, things happen and you're stuck as some girl's baby daddy for eighteen years and nine months."

"That's why you stick with the ones on birth control." Jason said casually, like he was talking about sports or the weather. "That way the rubber's just like mouthwash- only used for extra protection."

Troy closed his eyes. Great. Now every time he went to use his Listerine, this conversation would come into his mind. _Just_ what he wanted. He opened his eyes and looked across at Jason, who was drumming his pen on the table. "You say things like that and I wonder why I'm friends with you."

"What?" Jason said innocently, looking at Nolan like he had no idea what he'd said was inappropriate and… weird.

"Have you even _had_ sex, Bolton?" Nolan smirked from his spot across from Zeke. You know… Troy was slowly getting used to Nolan because Sharpay was clearly close to him now… but when he had that damn look on his face, Troy just wanted to hit him. More than once. "You haven't, had you?"

"Clark, just because I don't talk about it, doesn't mean I haven't."

"That's just what a person who hasn't had sex would say."

Jason laughed. "Oh, he's had sex."

Nolan's face seemed to falter at this, and his light blue eyes paled a little more. "No shit." He looked over at Jason and then back to Troy. "Tiara?"

Troy nodded slowly, looking up at the sub to see if she had any idea what they were talking about a few tables away. He brought his attention back to the table. Nolan was wearing a small, impressed smile. "Not bad. I didn't think you had it in you."

"True that." Zeke added, looking from Troy to Nolan. "He's so Prince Charming, you'd feel he'd wait for marriage."

"That's why I'm surprised." Nolan leaned an elbow atop the table. "I'm picturing candles, wine, and rose petals, am I close?"

"If Troy's here, you're in fucking Malaysia." Jason snickered.

Zeke sat up straighter on the high top lab chairs. "Try stars, twigs, and pine trees."

"Mr. Manners did the dirty in the dirty." Nolan grinned, his eyes still wide upon learning this information. Troy really wished today had been free period fifth. He could be far away from this nonexistent conversation right now. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

"Too bad she disappeared and they never got to do it again."

Nolan looked at Zeke. "Once?" He looked at Troy. "You did it _once_? Your first time? Dude, she probably didn't come back because you sucked."

Jason tapped the pen harder against the table. "_Thank _you. That's what I said."

Troy glanced up at the clock, willing the bell to miraculously ring even though there were twenty long minutes left of this torture. He was not comfortable talking about this. Especially because it made Troy believe that that's why Tiara actually had left- even though he was more than sure it wasn't. Tiara wasn't like that. She'd loved Eastwood. She'd loved _him_. She'd been so excited when she had been accepted into Hale. The only real reason she wouldn't have come back this year was that something big happened. Something so big she couldn't even call and tell him about it. More than anything he wished he could know what it was.

Sometimes he wondered if he'd done something. Something else, besides the possibly horrible sex, that he just couldn't remember. He'd spent the summer and the first two and a half months of school thinking about nothing but that. All those months of thinking had led him to one conclusion:

She'd fallen in love with Aiden Cross and she was now secretly living with him in his dorm at NYU.

Why Jason's brother? Troy had no idea. But she'd always been so flirtatious with him at school, and he'd always been jealous. Tiara Gold had been a charmer though, casually flirting with just about any guy- not just Aiden- which is why Troy had cast his theory to the back of his mind, along with Tiara. The truth was, for whatever reason, she'd left him. And there was a strong possibility that he would never see her again. He wouldn't even know what he would do first if he did see her… Would he go catatonic from pure shock? Would he be angry? Would he hug her like a long lost friend? Long lost _love?_ He wasn't sure. What he was sure of was that parts of his memory- parts that were filled with Tiara-like thoughts were slowly but surely being overrun by those of Sharpay. And he wasn't complaining. For the first time in a long time he felt like he was himself again. With Tiara, he'd had to endure the torture of her playful banter with other guys and her straightforward, forceful attitude when it came to showing her feelings. With Sharpay, the only things he had to endure was Nolan Clark and her shy demeanor that probably just came along with being forced into a new environment. Plus, with Tiara, he'd always constantly worry if she were interested in other people. Sharpay seemed to be just as interested in him and he was in her. And it made him comfortable. She made him feel comfortable- even when he was out of his mind worried about her.

"-when he has sex with Sharpay."

Troy blinked at Jason. He really had to stop zoning out. He wasn't prepared to refocus on conversations in which 'sex with Sharpay' was the main topic. "What?"

Jason turned. "Like you won't eventually. I see you guys touching each other. Under the table?" Troy opened his mouth to question how the hell he knew but Jason wouldn't let him get a word in. "You can't fool me, Troy, I invented this game."

"Holding hands with someone hardly proves I want her in the bedroom."

"No, but the way you look at her does." Jason corrected. "It's innate. Instinct. It may not be the first thing in your 'properly' developed brain, but trust me, it's there."

"How can we put this in terms you'll understand?" Nolan asked out loud, tapping his chin and bothering the shit out of Troy. "Oh, I got it. When you and Sharpay kiss do you- You have kissed her, right?"

"Yes, Clark, I'm not a fucking nun."

"Me-_ow_." Jason smirked, his pen creating some strange tribal drum beat soundtrack to their conversation.

Troy rolled his eyes while Nolan continued. "Tell me then. Do you feel those butterflies? That tickle that comes from the bottom of your stomach?" _How the fuck did he know about the butterflies?_ "I'll take your silence as a yes. Now, it's clear that you're taken by her, but it's pretty safe to say that all those happy little guys in there aren't telling you you're just falling for her."

Jason tilted his head. "Some, yes. All? No."

Troy let the information soak in. So, that's how it was going to be, huh butterflies? Work for my heart and then turn around and play for the other team? Oh, you tricky little insects.

In_sex_ts.

"And don't think she's not thinking about it either. Because she is." Nolan's voice cut through his thoughts. "I can tell by how she talks about you."

"You guys talk about me?" Troy asked, slightly weirded out. "About what, exactly."

"Nothing in particular." Nolan shrugged. "But she gets this look in her eye. It's about ninety six percent adoration and four percent smoldering temptress. Trust me. Ryleigh gets that look." He turned and looked across the room at Ryleigh's lab table. As if she knew he was looking, her head lifted in his direction. He nodded at her, grinning, and she gave him a look back. Her eyes looked him up and down while a sweet smile lit up her face. Nolan turned back to the table and raised a blonde eyebrow. "See? I mean, that was more like thirty two percent smoldering temptress, but still. You get the idea."

"You're just so irresistible." Jason taunted, pinching at Nolan's cheek. "Too bad Troy never gets Sharpay alone. It's not like he's about to molest her in public."

"Why would I molest someone in _private_?" Troy questioned. Jason rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean, prude."

"Get her alone and then talk to us. Tell us she doesn't give you the look."

Troy leaned his elbows against the table, a thought crossing his mind. He wasn't sure if it made him nervous or excited. "She's coming over to help me with French tonight."

"French? The language that practically screams sex?" Zeke laughed. "You're so asking for it."

"We'll probably be in the common room. Why would I… _molest _her, as you so gingerly put it, where anybody could see?"

"Fuck you guys for being able to have girls in your dorm." Nolan grimaced, jealous, and Troy grinned. Girls weren't allowed in any of the boy dorms at all. The Stuart dorm advisor just let it slide because that's what he was paid for- by the residents, anyway.

"I'll help you out, man. I've got plans tonight anyway. You take the room. Now listen to me, Troy. I'm not saying you have to have sex with her. I'm saying move in it's general direction. See what you feel. See what _she_ feels." Jason let out a long breath. "Hell, maybe you won't be able to resist. Sometimes things just happen. Don't fight the sex drive, man. It's bitchier than Gabriella and more powerful than Lily."

Troy inhaled; thinking about what Jason was going on about. Ten minutes ago, Sharpay was just Sharpay. The Sharpay who was constantly blushing and was only coming over tonight so that he wouldn't get less than a B on their French test tomorrow. But now she was four percent smoldering temptress, coming over to tutor him on the language that screamed sex. Sharpay wasn't just Sharpay anymore. Now she was…

_Sharpay._


	20. Visual Stimulation

"He said he needed help in French."

"Shar, that's the oldest trick in the book. It's luring-the-girl-into-the-bedroom 101."

"You're just jealous," Sharpay replied, holding her iPhone to her ear with one hand and cradling her French textbook into her side with the other. Another November chill blew threw the air and she wished she had an extra hand to hold her cardigan closed. One more day and she'd be able to buy a jacket. "Besides, his roommate Jason will probably be there. Troy won't try anything with him around. He's very old-fashioned. Definitely not the type of guy to push a girl up against a wall and ravish her."

Guess Jimmie knew what she'd be dreaming about tonight.

"Hell yeah, I'm jealous. But I can't do much from two thousand miles away. Though, if I leave right now I could be there in about thirty two hours." A silent beat passed between them, she heard him fiddling with something on his desk. She smiled as he finished, ignoring the part about her being ravished, "I checked."

Sharpay sighed into the cool night air, looking up at the brick building in front of her that was Stuart Hall. "I really miss you, Rocket. I wish you could come for Thanksgiving or something."

"Miss you, too." She could hear the frown he was trying to disguise. "Maybe I'll give your mom a call."

"Please don't." Sharpay wrinkled her nose at the weird thought of her mom and her best friend having each other's phone numbers. Texting... Exchanging picture messages... She stopped at the foot of the wide stone steps, peering up at the large wooden doors closed in front of her.

"Why not? Lidia's a-"

"You say MILF and we're no longer friends." She turned the phone to speaker, scrolling down to Troy Bolton in her address book and sending a quick 'I'm here' text before lifting the phone back to her ear. She turned and leaned her back against the thick railing. She wondered if Jimmie could get into Stuart if he'd somehow transferred here. He was popular enough at home. Then again, Nolan seemed pretty well known and he wasn't in. One day she was going ask Troy some of the questions stuck in her mind. Jimmie laughed. "Connecticut is slowly turning you more and more snippy."

"Maybe the prissy girls are rubbing off on me. Next time you see me I could be wearing Calvin Klein and Manolos."

"That statement would probably be scarier if I actually knew what a Manolo was. Is it like a boarding school Milano?"

"It's a shoe." Sharpay corrected. She heard the sound of a door closing behind her and she turned to see Jason strolling down the steps. "Well, look who we have here..."

"Who's that?" Jimmie questioned.

Sharpay just watched as he looked her up and down, sliding his phone into his back pocket. "No one."

"Nice of you to dress up for your study session." Jason continued, staring pointedly at her exposed legs, only covered by the sheer patterned tights.

"Dressed up? What are you wearing?"

She rolled her eyes, at the both of them. "This is what I wore to school, Jason."

"Sure you did." He smirked, hopping off the last step and slowly backpedaling off into the quad. Sharpay tried not to think about what- or who- he was doing over by the girl's dorms. "Try not to have too much fun, you hear?"

"Jason? As in the Jason clearly not present in Troy's dorm to prevent anything from happening? I told you Shar, he's going to 'voulez vous couchez' the shit out of you."

"He is _not_."

"Sharpay." Hearing her name, she turned and looked back up at the wooden doors. Troy stuck half of his body out but she raised a finger, pointing at her phone. He nodded and leaned back against the closed door, focusing down on the brass handle.

"Is that _him_?" Jimmie's voice was unenthusiastic. She frowned, thoughts of her feelings for her best friend flashing through her mind. "Shar, I'm a guy. Just because it doesn't look like it- doesn't mean we're not thinking about it."

"Just what I want to hear after having sleepovers in your room two million times."

"I'm serious." He insisted into Sharpay's ear. She bit the inside of her cheek. "Don't let him fool you. It's like a virus. It may not be the first thing, but it's always there."

She looked down at her feet as her best friend spoke, finally allowing herself to sneak a peak at Troy, who was fiddling with the mostly-for-decoration antique-looking door handle and it's old school keyhole. As far as she knew, the dorms had all been programmed to scan and read the barcode on the back of each resident's student ID card. Which left only the class wings, the cafeteria, library, infirmary, and admissions building to fall under the lock and key category. Troy looked down the steps at her and grinned at her before turning back to the door. If Jimmie was right he could be thinking about sex right now. Which brought to mind a whole other series of questions. What triggered him to think about it? How long did it stay on his mind? Who did the thoughts consist of? Was it her? Was it Tiara? Lily? Gabriella? Martha? Jason-

Whoops. Wrong gender.

No. There was no way. Troy wasn't like that. Look at that genuine smile, those luring eyes, those perfectly sculpted biceps... She blinked herself back to the present and focused on the flowers the lined the building, amazed at how the golden flowers still fought for life against the threatening winter weather. She was starting to think that maybe she was the guy in their… _situation_. All she could think about now was being back in the woods making out.

"Shar?"

"Yeah," Sharpay answered spacily, suddenly finding even her senses mixed up in thoughts of Troy. The spicy cinnamon tingle of his toothpaste that always seemed to linger when she kissed him. The way his arms were always so strong and protective around her. Drawing her in. She blinked a few more times. She'd only known Troy for a week. This was ridiculous.

No. This was hormones.

There was just something so familiar about Troy. She'd been drawn to him before she even knew his name- when he was just a guy with cute hair who looked at her from across the quad. She trusted him. She felt comfortable around him. Safe. And she was positive he felt something too. More than just a crush. Something deeper than that. She was sure it wasn't love, but it felt eerily close enough. What other reason was there for everything they'd already went through together?

He'd willingly shown her his most private locale. He'd stood up for her when she'd become a toy in Kelsi's sick version of amusement. He'd kissed and given her his sweatshirt in less than twenty-four hours of knowing each other. He'd welcomed her in instead of casting her aside like he easily could have. He'd searched through the woods for her, gone on a fake date because he was dead set on making sure her emotions didn't get toyed with for the entertainment of some other guy. He always seemed to be at her side when she was at the infirmary, endured the noise of her being sick, and fell asleep by her side in possibly the most uncomfortable looking chair just so that she wouldn't be alone when she woke up from the nightmare. She refused to believe he was 'just that nice'.

"Say you won't fall for his tricks." Jimmie said slowly as she looked up at Troy again. What tricks? The closest he'd ever gotten to copping a feel was at lunch, when his knuckles were dancing over her thigh. Which she hadn't minded. At all. But maybe that was the problem. Maybe she was feeling more physically attracted to him than he was to her. Did he not see her like that? Like someone he could steam up the windows with? His hands hardly ever roamed like that of a normal adolescent male. Jimmie was right. Troy was a classy guy, sure, but a guy nonetheless. There was obviously something wrong. And she was going to fix it. Somehow.

"I'll call you later, okay?" She answered, distracted as her mind turned to thoughts of how she could release some of Troy's maleness. "Don't let him seduce you!" Was the last phrase Jimmie got out before she closed the call, sliding her phone into the pocket of her sweater.

Sharpay smiled, walking up to door as Troy held it open. "Jimmie says hi."

"I feel slightly intimidated by this guy." He admitted, letting the door swing closed as she walked past him. "The innate alpha male inside of me wants to meet him and size him up. Tear him down. Find a weakness."

"Down, boy." She laughed softly at his honesty, looking over her shoulder at him, not bothering to bring up the fact that Jimmie was at least an inch and a half taller than him. "And who knows, maybe one day you will. After you pass your French test, that is."

Assuming they'd be studying up in his evidently-empty dorm, like any other guy would have planned to get closer, she took a step towards the staircase, expecting to be led up there and, as Jimmie had so quaintly put it, seduced. To which she would give off a seemingly hesitant attitude before giving in and letting him do whatever he pleased before she became uncomfortable. But who was she kidding? Troy wasn't like any other guy. Instead, he caught her wrist gently, tugging her towards the plush blue couches. "Actually... We're staying in the common room."

_Why_? She wanted to ask. Was she not attractive enough? Not good enough to try to seduce with cheesy French pick up lines? She was almost starting to feel offended. Sharpay realized she mustn't have been too good a job at hiding her disappointment because he looked at her, cockily amused. "Is there a problem with that?"

Her mouth said, "Nope," but her mind screamed, "Uh, yah!" She settled onto the couch near Troy, dropping her book onto the open cushion space between them. Might as well give him more obstacles to _not _overcome while he _didn't _try to touch her. Ugh. Men. She sank further into the soft cushion and looked around. The common room at Stuart reminded Sharpay of the one at Hale. It was obvious that the rooms, if not both of the houses, had been constructed and designed by the same people. Except for a few minor differences, she felt like she was back at Hale, sitting with Martha. Which she may as well have been, because it was obvious there would be no physical contact going on tonight. Which reminded her. "Are we allowed to be here?" She turned back to him. "What if someone walks in?"-_ on us doing absolutely nothing_? Sharpay added silently.

Troy looked up at her through his almost-girly lashes, flipping idly through his textbook. "Like who?"

She bit the inside of her cheek and shrugged. "I don't know. Dean Lucas? Your dorm advisor?"

"Dean Lucas is normally off campus by now. And Tim rarely leaves his apartment unless he's subbing for a teacher."

"Oh." Sharpay said, quieter. She tucked her hair behind her ear and suddenly felt uncomfortable. She wanted to be out if this skirt. These tights, these heels. She wanted to take a shower and put on a sweatshirt. Yeah. Sweatpants and Gossip Girl were sounding so good right now. Not that she probably wouldn't be drooling over Troy if that were the case. At least in her mind she could pretend that Troy was like any other teenage boy in the world- thinking about women and sex every fifty two seconds.

If only she knew.

"What's the matter?" Troy asked. Sharpay looked over at him and shook her head. Suddenly not caring that she was wearing a skirt, she kicked off her booties- thankfully she'd taken her socks off- and crossed her legs, placing a pillow on top of her lap, followed by her French book. She noticed his gaze flicker down to her legs before snapping back up. She felt herself blush. _Okay. That was a start. _"Nothing. Just thinking."

"About how you're going to magically make me speak French well?"

"You do speak it well," She responded to his smile. "Sometimes."

"That's reassuring. A lie. But reassuring nonetheless."

"Well, we better get to work then." Sharpay for one was thankful to be distracted by foreign vocabulary. Of course, the chapter focused on conjugating sentences with people and things they interacted with- grandma, cousin, couch, sweater. And hearing Troy speaking in his hotter-than-he-knows French voice about how his _ami_ left their _pantalons _in his _chambre a coucher _wasn't as much of a help as it could be. Why couldn't they be learning about food or the alphabet or something? But at least it was something. And she'd take anything to give her an excuse not to get lost in those eyes. When she looked at them long enough, all she found herself thinking about was kissing him. The way his lips felt. The warmth of skin. The way his tongue-

/

Awkward? Understatement. Troy felt like a word needed to be created just to be able to explain how he felt sitting in front of Sharpay. He was leaning back into the couch, staring at her while she fired questions at him, her eyes fixated on the list of vocabulary words. He didn't even want to know how much of a creep he looked like right now. He'd probably win a medal. But maybe if her almost bare legs weren't exposed right in front of him he'd be able to focus a little more. He was a sucker for legs. Forget Ryleigh's, he preferred hers. He had to stop this. He could control his hormones. He had self control- less and less by the second- but still. He dropped his head back, forcing his gaze to the ceiling. "Troy?"

He blinked lazily and brought his eyes back. Her brown eyes were scanning his now, and for a moment he caught what Nolan had mentioned earlier. Hidden beneath the curious sweetness of those irises was something else. Something deeper. But was it smoldering temptress? No. It just looked more like there was something she wanted to do or ask but was holding back. He started wondering what his own eyes looked like seeing as he was torn between wanting to throw these books on the floor and kiss her and asking if it'd be okay to, well... throw the books on the floor and kiss her. Why did the mirror have to be all the way across the room by the coat rack?

_Know you got a roommate, call me when there's no-_ "Hey, babe."

Troy turned his head as Sharpay craned her body to look back at the front door. Her textbook slid off the pillow on her lap and hit the floor with a thud. "_Crap_," she whispered to no one in particular, but not bothering to bend down and pick it up. A burst of cold air was let in through the door as it clicked shut. Alex heard the shuffle and looked over, his light eyes going from Troy to the blonde next to him. He grinned as he hung his jacket on one of the hooks on the wall. "Guess who's commingling in the dorms?" He laughed, "With the Mrs. … Yeah, her."

_Mrs._ … Troy side glanced at Sharpay. Her brows were furrowed in confusion as she stared on at Alex, no doubt wondering who was on the phone and how they knew about her. He looked back, "Katelyn?" The elder Clark nodded and a picture of Katelyn Boyd flashed through his mind. Brown eyes, strawberry hair, red and grey plaid uniform- the Number Two at Prospect Academy. The boarding school was about half an hour away- the larger, renovated, more upscale version of Eastwood. New athletic fields, new computers, and a new dorm that was supposedly something extremely rare- co-ed. It wasn't a secret that everyone wanted in at that school. It was the largest in Connecticut. Actually, it was the largest in north eastern America. It wasn't until you got down towards Washington DC that you'd see a boarding school of it's size. It was the size of a small city. And it was the best. The parents of the students were government officials, hotel moguls, entrepreneurs, attorneys- the important people, mostly based out of New York or the other larger cities on the East Coast. Every semester, hundreds send their sons and daughters, a Prospect Panther hopeful, to apply. And every semester, most are turned down for lack of sufficient admission requirements. Troy, however, had never tried after his first rejection freshman year- only because he'd met Tiara. And now he'd met Sharpay. And it went without saying that she wasn't the exact sort of candidate that Prospect sought after. The tuition for a semester at Prospect was almost a year at Eastwood. Not everyone had that kind of money to shell out.

"She says hi." Alex added, starting up the staircase. "Have you heard anything?… Well, Fox told me she was a- No, she can't hear me, relax."

As his voice faded away, Troy turned and leaned back into the couch, expecting to find a confused Sharpay. But no. She was in the middle of reaching to pick her fallen book up. "His girlfriend." He announced aloud, to really no one in particular. She glanced up at him. "Believe it or not I figured that out for myself."

He shook his head and ran a hand over his hair. "I think I'm loosing my common sense."

"Well, your brain is probably searching for anything _else_ to talk about. I don't think your attention span can handle another minute of school." She teased, taking the book from the floor and placing it on top of the coffee table next to a half eaten box of fruit roll ups Troy assumed were Jason's. "Especially since you were barely paying attention for the first sixty."

Troy smiled apologetically. How could girls always tell when he was thinking about something else? It was going to be his downfall. "I'm trying, really. My focus is just... Off."

No need to elaborate further.

Sharpay bit the corner of her lip and seemed to think about something for a short torturous while before speaking. "What's your room number?"

Troy hoped his eyes didn't bulge too much out of their sockets as Sharpay stood up from the couch, flattening out her skirt and putting her feet back into her boots. "What for?"

"You'll see." She stated simply, holding her hand in his direction. After a few seconds of him not moving, she dropped her hand. "Do I look like Megan Fox from Jennifer's Body?"

He blinked. Was this a trick question? "No?"

"Than why are you looking at me like I'm going to eat you?" She lifted her hand back once more, shaking it slightly. "Come on, I don't have cooties. Promise."

This was when he felt confused. Here she was joking around and being cute while at the same time asking where his room was. God damn it, Nolan was right. But he wasn't about to sit here and hate him for it. He took her outstretched hand and led her around the couch, up both flights of stairs until they were on third floor. They passed the empty room 301, and Troy pushed open 302. His room. He and Jason's room. The one Sharpay wanted to see. He let her walk in first, turning to look across the hall at Alex's room, hearing his muffled voice through the closed door, and then down at James and Vince's. He felt Sharpay retract her fingers and he turned back to the room, closing the door behind him. She looked over at him, "I would have pictured your room much tidier."

He pushed away from the door, smirking and relaxing slightly despite his racing brain. "Did you not account for the fact that Jason is my roommate?"

She laughed softly and continued to look around. "I guess not."

He sat down on the edge of his bed. He was glad he'd decided to come back to the dorm and make it during his boring free period. It made the room look almost worthy of company- _almost_, until you saw the clothes piled up between Jason's bed and the closet. The mirrored doors made the mess look bigger than it was. Sharpay looked over at the closed bathroom door. "Do you share with anybody?"

Troy nodded and scratched the back of his neck, confused by her attempt at small talk. Or maybe it wasn't small talk. Maybe this was what she'd actually brought him up here to do. She wanted to scope around and see what he was hiding up here. But if that were the case, why did she sound so nervous? Was it because his bed was made? Did it make her think he was gay? Great. "Just Ryan."

"Just Ryan," She repeated softly. She turned back to Troy, "So, I think I know how I can improve your French skills."

Troy looked at Sharpay, at the bathroom door, and back. "By... letting Ryan tutor me instead?"

She shook her head. "Word association." He dropped his hand from his neck as his brows no doubt furrowed in confusion. Sharpay's eyes stayed on him. "I give you a word in a sentence and then show you something you'll remember. This way when you see it on the test, you'll think back. It's kinesthetic learning. Visual stimulation helps the brain retain information. Get it?"

Not really. "Yeah."

Sharpay twirled her heel nervously against the carpet and looked around the room again. What was she nervous about? Troy was the one who had no idea what was going on here, wondering if she thought he was gay or not. "My new shoes are by the sink."

Troy laughed as Sharpay looked at him expectantly. "What?"

"Repeat it in French."

"How is this-" She raised an eyebrow, Troy let out a breath. "Mes nouvelles… chaussures sont… par l'evier? You know, I don't see a sink anywhere."

Sharpay shrugged, taking her shoes off and shrinking about two inches. "We'll manage. Now... Grandmother's sweater will be upstairs in the closet."

Troy stared across at Sharpay who looked back at him innocently. Yeah, he was going to remember whatever was going on here. He was almost positive of it. He came up with something about a _chandail_ and she nodded, this time shrugging her sweater from her shoulders. She held it in her hand for a few extra moments before letting it pile on top of her boots.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at her with mock accusation. Now he was starting to see what she was doing. "Sharpay Evans, are you trying to seduce me?"

/

No. Well...

Maybe just a little bit

"I told you. Your memory responds to images. This is purely scientific." She tried not to smile too much when Troy smirked up at her, clearly unconvinced. "You'll thank me when you get an A." She took a few steps closer to him, feeling her palpitating heart inside of her chest. It's not like she was about to take it all off for him. But it was the second thing she thought of that could secretly prove he wanted her... like that. The first thought had been tossing her books and attacking him on the couch. "Uncle Smith wanted us to meet him at the door."

Amazed at his ability to continue to look her in the eye as he responded, Sharpay grinned and reached up, undoing two buttons of her ruffled blouse- which could totally have been mistaken for slutty did she not have the opaque camisole underneath which barely showed the cleavage she barely had.

"Did you bribe Madame Neville to teach this vocabulary lesson specifically for this torture?"

She shook her head and, probably, blushed. "Just answer the question."

He smirked. "You haven't asked one yet."

_Crap_. She was not going to let Troy reduce her back down into a shy little girl. She had a mission to complete here. And if he started making her stomach all tingly it wasn't going to work. She'd melt down into a little pile of butter. She needed to subtly put herself in charge of his charm. She walked up to him, forcing herself to man up and sit sideways on his lap. "Dad's green shirt is on the floor of the basement."

Nothing hotter than bringing a dad into the conversation.

Sharpay could feel Troy breathing as she popped loose a button of his flannel. Or maybe those were _her_ shallow lungs. But who could blame her. If Troy's normal smooth voice was Christmas, using it to speak slightly stuttered French was Valentine's Day and New Years-because, oh, there were fireworks. On his seventh correct answer, she slid the last button out, biting down on the inside of her cheek while she looked up Troy, whose blue eyes were delightfully tracking her own eyes' movements, his own hands resting atop her legs. She tried to keep her hands from shaking, her fingers casually grazing up his chest over the plain white undershirt before trailing down his miraculous arms, pushing the brown plaid away from his skin. That's it. He won. She couldn't do this anymore. It was too hard.

Taking a moment to think about what words she hadn't used yet, she tried to regulate her breathing. She was extremely envious at how even and steady his breathing was. If it weren't for the expression on his face or the desperation in his voice as he willed himself to get the words right, she would have assumed he wasn't enjoying this. "Turn off the-" Shaky breath. "-Computer."

Great. She was hyperventilating.

His blue eyes went from her right to her left. "Eteindre-" he paused, just where she had stopped to breathe. An embarrassed smile tugged at the corner of her mouth and she was glad she remembered to brush her teeth after dinner. "Le…" He paused again, and Sharpay was sure he was about to get the right answer again, she pulled her hands back to her own navy shirt, her fingers hovered casually over the hem. "Couteau."

Turn off the _knife_. She swallowed the lump in her throat and shook her head. She stood up from his legs, feeling colder even though the room was comfortably heated. "Wrong."

Troy's opened his mouth, looking off to the side to scan his brain. She took a step back from him, wondering what she would do if he continued to get it wrong. Should she get dressed or stay as she was? The second option was more appealing. Luckily, after a few quiet moments- not entirely quiet, because she could hear someone rustling around in Ryan's room- he guessed, "La moquette?"

"Two strikes..." She warned. He couldn't get it wrong. She wouldn't let him. "Ordi-"

"Ordinateur." he finished, the words rushing out like a flood of water being held back by a dam. "L'ordinateur."

Sharpay paused, lifting her hands back to the bottom of her shirt. With an inhale she told herself not to close her eyes while she lifted the fabric over her head. She let it fall onto the dorm room floor in a pile of navy cotton. It would wrinkle, but she wasn't really worried about it all that much. Her eyes remained on Troy's, even as they briefly dropped in the direction of her torso and her now-bare arms. She really hoped her bra wasn't sticking out. She was too nervous to reach up and check though, her eyes were too locked on Troy Bolton. At least if her black Very Sexy bra- which she had worn today _not_ knowing that anything was going to happen, she swore- was making a guest appearance, she wouldn't know, so she wouldn't have to be embarrassed by it. But if it was showing…

God, she was glad she knew how to pick out good-looking bras.

She took a small step, looking down at him while the butterflies broke out of their cocoons and into her stomach. "My best friend..."

"Mon meilleur ami." Troy repeated, his voice uneven for the first time as Sharpay reached to touch the small, embroidered logo on the upper right side of his chest. She smiled to herself. _Bingo_.

"Wants to borrow…" She continued, noticing how Troy seemed to be having a difficult time keeping his eyes from drifting down to her lips, because they were moving up and down like the wings on a Hummingbird. "Besoins… pour emprunter."

"Your bed." She barely whispered, now hovering barely an inch from his face, looking down at him. Sharpay raised an eyebrow in waiting, unable to focus on just one eye. "Mon lit?"

She placed her other hand lightly on the side of his neck. "Very good."

/

Troy closed his eyes, reaching for Sharpay's hand as she leaned into his lower lip. He liked this studying technique. He very, very much approved of it. How had he gone so long without it? On second thought- how had he done so long without kissing her? No more. Not after this. He forgot how good the sensation was. That little chill that he felt when her hand slid around and toyed with the hair at the nape of his neck. Even the fucking in_sex_ts felt good. He could tell Sharpay probably hadn't meant for the kiss to continue on as long as it was, but by the look she'd had in her eyes, he guessed she didn't minded it going into overtime. And it wasn't like he wasn't about to call a time out.

Reaffirming the theory, Sharpay leaned into him further, her left hand falling down to his shoulder. Without either of them needing to speak or open their eyes, Troy brought his hands back behind him and scooted slowly backwards while Sharpay worked to keep her lips attached to his. She carefully used her knees to push herself forward, moving against either side of his leg, before melting against him. He slid an arm around her waist while his other hand snuck under her hair.

"Mm-" Sharpay silently protested against his lips after about six seconds. "Cousin Kathy needs her cell phone from your suitcase."

Troy pulled away, just enough to look up at her through heavy lids. "You're kidding."

She looked at him through her lashes, readjusting herself so that her elbows were above his shoulder, and her forearms were hugging the sides of his head. "Follow the rules. I'd hate to have to start all over again."

He closed his eyes and dropped his head against the bottom of the pillow. "Cousin Kathy-"

"En Français, Troy." Sharpay interrupted, and he could feel her smiling when she pressed a barely-there kiss to the corner of his mouth, her fingers brushing through the hair at the top of his head.

Curious as to see what would happen with this correct answer, he rambled out the words he thought he hadn't memorized from class. "You're better than you give yourself credit for, Bolton," Sharpay mumbled before kissing him again.

"And it seems you're out of visual aids." Troy involuntarily smirked as Sharpay dropped her one hand down to his chest, dragging her fingers slowly-and with fake confidence he didn't pick up on- all the way down to the bottom of his plain cotton shirt. "I'll think of something."

While she leaned down to continue on with their kiss, Troy pushed himself up with his elbow, causing her to grip onto his shirt while he slid out from underneath her and reversed their position without ever needing to remove his hand from around her waist. Only once he was steadied on his elbow, sure the weight of his body wouldn't crush her, did he uncurl it. A shiver trembled through her when his fingers brushed across the sliver of skin exposed between her skirt and her shirt. Despite the warmth that crept up his arm, he pulled his face back, watching as her eyes blinked themselves open hazily. She bit the corner of her lip and looked into each of his eyes. "Um." She breathed, "The garden is… outside."

He grinned and ignored the question, leaning down to kiss her again instead. "No more French." He said slowly, staring at the dark strands of brown in her eyes.

"No more French." She repeated, making no attempt to move his hand from her skin while hers gripped at the side of his shirt. She blinked, flashing her eyes down in the direction of her exposed skin, silently communicating that he could move his hand. That she was comfortable. Which was what he'd been unsure of. He'd never gone farther than this with a girl he'd only known a week. But Sharpay wasn't any other girl. He could tell from the way she was looking up at him. Like she was trying to read his thoughts through his eyes She was obviously at enough ease to let his hand be there, unmoving, on her skin. Once their lips were successfully reattached, her hand slid from his neck, while the other unclenched itself from the cotton. Her fingers moved under the hem of the shirt and drew soft abstract patterns into his skin. Unable to find the will power to control her want for more, the want he was so difficultly hiding, she pushed her hands and the fabric further up, until there was no place left for it to go but off. Once it was removed, her hands skimmed right back across his skin, giving him the chills while simultaneously leaving a trail of heat wherever they went- down his chest and back up to his shoulder blades, where she held him into her. Trust him, there was no way he was going anywhere. He wouldn't even move if the fire alarm went off. If he died, at least he'd be completely content in the moment.

One hand found it's way to his arm, and Sharpay kept it resting over the skin, bringing it back to over his own hand- the one still paused at the bottom of her camisole. It held still on top of his, and Troy believed she was about to remove it. But no, she just circled her fingers half way around his wrist and moved the hand a fraction of an inch.

He got the hint.

/

Sharpay brought her arm back around to Troy's back. As his fingers crept centimeter by centimeter, pressing into her skin, his lips trailing outward, down her jaw, to her collarbone. She turned her head, comfortably pressing her cheek into Troy's pillow and releasing a small scent from the feathers that she labeled as his shampoo. Who had she been trying to kid? This was way better than she'd imagined. Forget about solid butter. Melted butter was the only way to go. And boy, she'd melted like she'd be thrown on the top of a pancake.

Or… pressed underneath.

She ran her hand along the muscles of Troy's back, letting one hand mingle into his hair while his face was perfectly in the crook of her neck, like it was meant to be there. She could do this for hours- this kissing and current level of exploring. She wasn't really sure how far she would let it go before wimping out, though she was sure Troy wouldn't be mad if and when she did. A small noise got caught in her throat in a mixture of enjoymentsurprise as Troy's slow fingers brushed atop her bottom rib and his lips found a ticklish spot just under her ear. Grinning, clearly pleased like any other seventeen-year-old male would be, he stopped his trail of torturously slow, wonderful kisses and pulled back just enough to look her in the eye, suspending the movement of his fingers. She turned her head to look back into his blue eyes, loving how close she was to them right now. She wanted to take a picture and put it right next to her bed so they could be the first thing she saw every morning. She didn't know what she was going to do for the five Troy-less days of Thanksgiving break. Die, probably, from lack of contact.

Sharpay returned his smile, her hand moving around to rest palm flat against the muscles in his arm while tilting her chin up to catch his lips. She wasn't aware that it would be the last kiss she'd be getting that night. Troy's fingers smoothed over a second rib, a third, a fourth, until-

"I don't see why you actually obey curfew. It's not like it applies to us, anyway."

Troy rolled off Sharpay the second Jason pushed the door open, strolling in with his phone to his ear, completely oblivious. Wasn't he supposed to have plans? Sharpay felt color rise into her face as she sat herself up, pulling down both her camisole and matching skirt- which seemed to have risen on it's own, because she didn't remember Troy going anywhere near it. She exchanged a look with Troy, his blue eyes a mixture of confusion and- was that embarrassment? She felt the same way. Except much more embarrassed and more disappointed than confused, really. As he straightened up next to her and she let her leg dangle off the side of the bed, Jason's green eyes finally landed on them as he turned the shut the door behind him. He looked at Troy. Then looked at Sharpay. Then smirked, pressing the door into its frame. "Babe, I'll call you back."

Sharpay folded her arms across her chest self consciously, fixating her gaze on Troy's crinkled sheets. Poor bed. It had been made so neatly. Jason shook his head and reached for the bathroom door, walking straight across to the other side. "Come look, Everrett, Troy's-" Jason let out a laugh as he took a step into Ryan's dorm and turned back to Troy and Sharpay. "God, we're all getting lucky tonight, aren't we?"

Ryan followed him in seconds later, unembarrassed and clad in nothing but a pair of blue and yellow boxers. Jason let out a second laugh. "What's wrong J Crew? Did I interrupt something?"

"What happened to the knock-when-the-door's-closed policy?" Ryan asked instead, ignoring the question brigade.

"Join the club." Troy deadpanned. Sharpay wrapped her hand around his bicep and squeezed it in a comforting way.

Ryan turned his head and seemed to notice them for the first time. He grinned in the same amusement Jason had. "Well, well, well."

"Ignore Cross, Ry, he's a perv." Kelsi snaked her hands around Ryan's torso from behind. She pressed a kiss onto the nape of his neck. "He's too cheap to buy his own porn- _Oh_." Her green eyes found Sharpay and took in her appearance. "So that's the kind of girl you are..."

Sharpay blinked, feeling accused. The auburn bombshell smirked, not bashful at all about the fact that the only thing that looked to be covering her was a baggy grey sweatshirt. "Speak for yourself."

"Ryan's my boyfriend, Albuquerque. I can do whatever the hell with him I please without looking like a-"

"Enough, Kels." Ryan warned. There was a quick rap on the door, but James didn't wait for an answer before taking a step into the room. His eyes scanned over each of the people in the room, falling last on Sharpay. "Well. Nice to see _more_ of you, Evans."

She heard the implication in his voice and felt her face burn up again, so she turned to hide it against Troy's bare shoulder. This time he placed a hand on her knee to comfort her. It didn't really help much, but she appreciated the effort.

James turned his focus back to Ryan and Kelsi. "Turn on the lock 'n they won't come a'knockin."

Sharpay let out a puff of hot air against Troy's skin as his shoulder muffled her laugh. Kelsi rolled her eyes and walked back to Ryan's room. "Boys."

Ryan shot an annoyed glance at Jason before following her, pulling the bathroom door shut behind him to make a point. He smirked and looked over at James. "One if these days I swear I won't interrupt."

Sharpay turned her head back to the senior, her cheek pressed nervously against Troy's skin. He didn't seem mad about the events going on behind closed doors... But Kelsi was Kelsi. Gorgeous may-or-may-not-be-a-model Nielsen. She was just Sharpay. Average imported-from-New-Mexico Evans. "Never expose more than you want Cross to see, Blondie. He ruins things for the fun of it."

Jason shrugged at this. Basically saying yep-that's-me. James looked pointedly at Troy. "I think you should walk her back, now, Bolton. It's getting late."

/

"Who do you think Jason was on the phone with?"

Troy shrugged, his arm resting over Sharpay's shoulders in a poor attempt to keep her warm while walking her across the quad. She really needed to buy herself a jacket. Hell, she'd buy one for her. Who needed school the day before Thanksgiving, anyway? "Don't know. Could be anything without a Y chromosome."

"I think it was someone from Hale." Sharpay said, her arms holding her grey cardigan around her. "He said something about 'rules not applying'."

"It's Lily." Troy replied casually. She turned to look up at him with wide, believing eyes. "I'm totally kidding."

She smirked and nudged his side, stepping onto the pathway in front of Hale. "I'm serious. Who would want to be breaking curfew with him?"

"You make it sound like he's Chris Keaton." Troy laughed, picturing the greasy boy that sat behind Sharpay in Lit.

"Hey! Emma says that when he doesn't have so much product in his hair, he's actually semi-almost-decent looking."

"I'm sure he is." He smirked and kissed the side of her head, his arm falling from around her as she reached to pull out her Eastwood ID.

"You're such a jerk." She joked, taking a step up towards the door, looking across at him.

"A cute jerk."

"A cute jerk is still a jerk, you know."

"A jerk who you don't mind making out with?"

"Girls make out with jerks all the time."

"Yes, but not all of them are as good at it as I am."

"_And_ you're full of yourself."

"But thoughtful enough to carry your book for you." Troy finished, holding the textbook out to her with his right hand, grinning innocently.

"Thank you." She smiled, taking the book from his hand. "For what might be the most embarrassing moment of my life."

He pushed his hands into the cover of his pockets. "Anytime."

She looked down at her feet and took another step towards the door. And another. And another. She looked up at him, her cheeks pink from either the cold air or from thinking about the situation. "See you tomorrow?"

He nodded. _And the next day… And the next month… And the next year…_

* * *

So I'm writing this chapter, casually listening to my iTunes on shuffle, right? And one minute it's nice, nicely-paced Jesse McCartney. And mind you, this was around the time when I was writing about Sharpay and Troy sitting on the couch. Then it's like all of sudden this heavy beat comes pouring in and what else could it be but Jason's ring tone? See, Sharpay wasn't originally going to be so initiative. But then I'm thinking of Sharpay like my iTunes, and about what Nolan said about the innocent demeanor covering up a craving.

Imagine the scene of them walking upstairs with Body Language by Jesse McCartney playing in the background. And it's slowly fading out, into Swing by Savage. Then, just as Troy says, "Sharpay Evans, are you trying to seduce me?" The slower beat in the beginning of Swing ends and as Sharpay is thinking , 'No. Well…' Savage sings 'Oh, shit…'

Gotta love soundtracks.


	21. Conflict of Interest

_Diiiiiiiing Dong._

Sharpay heard the doorbell, but refused to get out of bed. It was far too plush and comfortable. Upon her arrival two nights ago, she'd realized that the Midtown apartment Lidia's company had provided her with had actually been furnished. Apparently this was their new permanent residence. The house in Connecticut that her mother's development company had originally planned for them to live in was going to be sold because Lidia Evans said she couldn't imagine not living in the city. Sharpay had rolled her eyes. It'd only been a week. Could anyone really fall in love with something after only a week? A picture of Troy flashed through her mind and she pulled her covers over her face to cover the giddy smile no one was even around to see. The doorbell rang again and she kicked the comforter off of her body but made no other attempt to move towards the door. It couldn't be anybody important; after all, she didn't know anybody here. She'd let her mother open it.

She wiped the sleep from her eyes and looked down, realizing she was still wearing her cranberry tunic and black patterned stockings that reminded her of Troy all over again. Tuesday, when they were still at school, he'd told her he'd be in the city for Thanksgiving, at his suite at The Four Seasons. She wondered what he was doing right now. After a few silent moments, she felt something vibrating. Feeling around behind her, she pulled her iPhone out from underneath her pillow and lifted the phone to her ear without even glancing at the screen. Whoever it was, she was going to pretend it was Troy. "Hello?"

"If you're alive, why aren't you opening the door?"

Without answering, Sharpay slid off onto the carpet, imagining how good she must look after a night of stuffing her face with pumpkin pie and passing out wearing a dress she'd worn all of yesterday for no real reason. It's not like she or her mom had had company over for dinner. She navigated her way to the front door, unlocked it, and pulled it open, locking eyes with the blue-eyed boy in front of her. He raised an eyebrow and Sharpay leaned her head against the door. "How do you know I wasn't sleeping?"

"I didn't." Nolan replied, smirking. "But now I know you weren't."

She moved to the side allowing him to walk into the small foyer that opened into the living room. "You're so sure of yourself."

"I am. You answered the door way too quickly to have just woken up." He turned back to her as she pushed the door shut. "You were probably laying in your bed, thinking about Bolton while staring out the window

"No." Sharpay denied. Nolan tucked his Blackberry into his black leather jacket, a smug look on his face. "I was staring at the ceiling."

"Cuu-uute." He cooed teasingly as she pushed past him to get over to the L-shaped couch in the spacious living area. Her stockings created an uncomfortable friction on her feet as she dragged them over the carpet. She noticed a piece of ripped notebook paper sitting on top of the coffee table and recognized her mom's messy writing almost immediately. _Problem with the new building. Might not be home until late. Go out and have fun. XO._

As Sharpay lifted the paper to read over it, she saw the little black card sitting on top of the table. Staring at her. Waiting for her. She opened her eyes a little wider to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. She bent down, picking it up like the piece of gold it was. When the hell did her mother make enough money to own a Black Card? Who exactly did she work for again?

"What's up?" Nolan asked, probably noticing that Sharpay had gone catatonic.

Sharpay slowly turned, the card in one hand, the note in the other. Nolan nodded. "Ah. The Centurion Card Coma."

"She has to be kidding me."

"Welcome to New York, Evans." He laughed, falling back into the couch and looking up at her.

Sharpay sat down next to him, putting the note down and examining the aluminum card with both hands, smoothing her fingers over the indented name of **LIDIA EVANS**_**.**_ She looked over at Nolan, wondering how he could be so calm. "This is fake, right? I mean- do you know how much you have to have to have to even _dream _about these cards? I do. I wrote a report on extravagant spending freshman year."

"Maybe your mother is dating a tycoon you don't know about."

"God forbid." She cringed inside, imagining her poor widowed mother in the wrinkly arms of some old Hugh Hefner type individual.

"Tell you what?" Nolan leaned forward and slid the card out of her fingers, placing it back onto the coffee table. "Go shower and get dressed. Then we can go get something to eat- you haven't eaten yet, have you?" Sharpay shook her head. "Good, because we were getting food regardless. Then you can act like any other normal girl would and go on a charge-spree."

She bit the inside of her cheek and mulled it over. "Are you saying I'm not normal?"

He sat back again. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

"Is that the technique you use to get all the girls?"

Nolan grinned. "I'm not trying to get you, remember? Think of me as your adorable twin brother."

"Well… I _have_ always wanted a sister." She stood up from the couch and walked around Nolan's legs. "Grow your hair a few inches and it could work."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Nolan shouted in her direction as she walked into her bedroom.

/

Sharpay Evans never thought she'd see the day. Yes. She owned her very own wool coat. Well… cotton/wool polyblend, but still. She'd bought James Perse. From Barney's. On Madison Avenue. In Manhattan. With a Black Card. She was absolutely certain that this was all a dream. She was back in Eastwood sleeping in her room at Hale. Gabriella was hovering over her, ready to put her fingers in a cup of warm water or something. "Pinch me, please."

Nolan laughed as he dodged a tourist who stopped short to take a picture of the Louis Vuitton storefront. They walked easily with the flow of traffic crossing Fifth Avenue back in the direction of The Bristol- the traffic made even worse by all of the post-Thanksgiving visitors. "It's been what, five hours? You still don't believe it?"

She shook her head, "When my mom calls and shows me the bill for this charge card, I'll believe it."

It really had been some of the most fun she'd had since moving. She and Nolan had gone out to lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen- her choice; he'd never actually eaten there before. They'd proceeded to walk west towards Central Park, where they strolled up towards the Upper East Side for a while before cutting over to Madison at 67th St. Nolan seemed to be enjoying playing tour guide as they walked down Madison, crossed over to Fifth, then walked back up to 57th, where they were walking now, just coming out of Bergdorf's. That's right. Sharpay Evans had made a purchase at Bergdorf Goodman's with a Centurion. A purchase that was going to be _delivered _to her luxury apartment complex. A purchase that shamefully passed the thousand-dollar mark. The world itself was bowing down.

She didn't understand how a cashier could act so casual when a seventeen year old was buying a pair of five hundred and thirty five dollar boots, a pair of six hundred and ninety five dollar boots, _and_ a pair of fringed purple booties that were two hundred dollars more. Stuart Weitzman, Alberto Fermani, and Manolo- freaking- Blahnik. She wasn't originally going to buy the last two. But her mother had sent her a text- that's right, not a call or a voicemail, a _text message_- saying not to worry about 'spending too much' and that the card was 'meant to be used for larger purchases'. She was turning into one of _those_ parents. Well, if Lidia Evans wanted a larger purchase, a larger purchase she would receive.

At least she had Nolan, who actually _had_ started feeling like her brother. And they both had wavy blonde hair, so there's a possibility they were pulling off the charade to onlookers. She had no idea how he'd managed to put up with all the shopping, but when she asked he explained to her that his mother used to drag him shopping all the time, and most of the people in the stores knew him. Which was true. At almost every store, he'd get either an "Is this your girlfriend, dear?" or a "How's you're mother doing, sweetheart?" She transferred her Calvin Klein bag from one hand to the other and readjusted her Botkier on her shoulder.

"Want to go out for dinner?" Nolan asked, looking down at the screen of his phone. When he turned to her, he gestured to the phone. "Alex and his girlfriend are meeting up with some people from her school." Sharpay stopped behind a man in an I Heart NY sweatshirt as they waited for the crosswalk to change and looked over at him. He continued, "I'm your brother. You can't make me go alone."

She smiled and shrugged. "Sure." As Nolan texted what Sharpay assumed to be a reply into his Blackberry, she played with the zipper of the Diesel jacket she'd bought back on Fifth. Sure, she had the wool jacket, but Nolan's looked so comfortable that she decided she wanted one of her own. The leather matched her Botkier bag and made her feel very city chic. She wished Troy could somehow see her right now. Look out of the window of a store and just see her passing by. "Where's Ryleigh?"

"Home in Massachusetts with the senator." Sharpay blinked and moved forward as the crowd progressed forward once more. Ryleigh's father was the senator of Massachusetts? And she wasn't in Hale? The whole selection system was so hazy. "Thinking about Troy?"

She grumbled to herself. "How do you always know?"

"Twin telekinesis." He smirked, putting away his phone and tucking his hands into his pockets. "How are you two getting along? No more lovers' quarrels? Strictly making out in the empty hallways?" She blushed, and when he noticed, Nolan started laughing. "Oh, my god. Don't tell me you guys-"

"No!" Sharpay blushed even more, tucking a wave of hair behind her ear. "No." She repeated, more calm this time. "I mean, we were making out and Jason walked in and killed the mood. And then Ryan came in with his boxers and Kelsi was hiding under a sweatshirt and James-"

"Orgy at Stuart?"

"Alright, conversation closed."

"No, no. I'm sorry. I'll be good." Sharpay could tell he was trying very hard not to say whatever was on his mind. Part of her wanted to know what he was thinking about, but the other part, the embarrassed part, didn't even want to imagine. "So, tell me. If you guys hadn't been _interrupted_, do you think you would have…"

_Stop blushing, Sharpay._ She shrugged again. "I don't know."

"Well, were you prepared? You hadn't planned it, had you?"

"No, Nolan, I've known him for like a week" She bit the inside of her cheek, practically feeling Troy's lips pressing into her neck. "And not, you know, like… condom-wise. But my mom's had me on birth control since about eighth grade."

"Don't let Jason know that."

"Huh?"

"Never mind." He shook his head, brushing off some kind of inside joke. "So what else? What'd you have on underneath?"

"Nolan!" She whisper-shouted, looking around to see if anyone had heard that. But of course, no one had. This was Manhattan. No one was paying attention to her conversations on the street.

"What!" He whisper-shouted back, his face the picture of amused innocence. "I'm sorry, but if we so much as catch as glimpse of granny panties, we bolt."

"Do I look like a grandma to you?"

"You never know. Those high-waisted monsters could be your dirty little secret."

"No, I was wearing regular underwear, Nolan. Plain, normal, probably Victoria's Secret underwear." As she said this out loud, she felt her mind racing to remember what she actually _had_ had on. She remembered her black bra, only because she remembered being so worried that it was showing from underneath her shirt. But wait- why was she getting herself so worked up? She hadn't even thought about him seeing her underwear. But if she had been that freaked out over her bra showing, god only knows what she would have done if she had gone through the possibility of Troy seeing her panties. And now Nolan was making her freak out. She needed to buy new underwear. New, cute, lacy-but-innocent underwear. Maybe a matching bra or two.

"Relax. I'm sure he wouldn't care even if you were." Nolan said, interrupting her worries. She inhaled, feeling better at just the possibility. "Or maybe he would." The breath caught in her throat and she coughed. He looked over at her, a thought flashing across his pale blue eyes, and then steered their bodies to the right, leading her across the street. "Alright, Nervous Nancy, we're taking a detour."

She looked up at him, nervous all over again. "What kind of detour."

"One Bolton will thank me for in the off-chance he follows his instincts and lets it go past first base."

That's how Sharpay found herself leaning against the white door of a dressing room in the 57th Street Victoria's Street. Her bare back was freezing as she folded her arms, staring up at the pink neon 'STRIP' light that was placed above the large mirror. She shook her head, seeing the pinkish, laced Miracle Bra she'd grabbed sitting against her skin. "I'm not coming out."

"Oh, come on. I'm your brother and I have a girlfriend. I'm spoken for. This is strictly for your benefit." Nolan's voice came from the other side of the white door. "Or Troy's, depending on how you look at it."

She dropped her arms slowly, examining herself for a moment in the mirror. It was amazing. It actually looked like she had cleavage.

That's what Level 5 padding can do for a girl.

"I don't know. Why would I let my brother see me without a shirt?"

"I don't understand you shy girls. It's almost the exact same thing as wearing a bikini top."

"Keyword: almost." Sharpay countered, toying with her hair nervously.

"Pretend I'm gay. Pretend I'm your female-phobic best friend."

Sharpay laughed, straightening herself up. She shook her head and turned around, staring at the doorknob. "…fine."

"You don't even have to come out, just open the door for five seconds. I'll examine color and hotness level and that's it."

Reminding herself how crazy she would drive herself if she kept worrying about this new will-Troy-like-my-underwear thing, she pulled the door open slowly, keeping her shoulder pressed against it in case she wanted to shield herself. Nolan was across the way, leaning against a closed door of one of the opposing dressing rooms.

His pale eyes flickered from her shoulder, down, and then back up to the other shoulder in about two seconds. Surprisingly, Sharpay didn't feel nervous and self conscious, like she'd imagined she would if it were Troy standing in front of her- mainly because she kept chanting 'gay brother, gay brother' in her head.

"You know, you've got a pretty nice bod. It's a good thing I'm gay."

"Well, I've always suspected that much. But it's really a relief to hear you announce it in a Victoria's Secret dressing room. If you can't admit it to a lace-clad mannequin, who _can_ you come out to?"

Sharpay's brow furrowed as she heard the strange voice. She'd never heard it before. Nolan turned his head to look at someone. She couldn't see who the female was, however, because she was still inside of the roomy square dressing room and the wall was blocking her view. She wanted to step out and look but she resisted, waiting for the stranger to announce herself and make the situation just a _little _less awkward.

"Miss Foster. Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" Nolan grinned over in the girl's direction. Foster… Sharpay didn't think she knew anybody named Foster; she figured her kindergarten teacher didn't count. "Where's your other half?"

"Hauled up in Bergdorf's with her personal shopper." Foster replied. "What about you? Is Ryleigh hiding out in one of the dressing rooms?"

Nolan turned his head back to Sharpay, who shot him an inquisitive look with her eyebrows. "Not exactly."

She was about to close the door to get dressed when she heard a third voice that froze her movements. "Faye, you can't just leave a guy by himself with a girl who works at Victoria's Secret."

Now that was a voice she knew.

Forgetting she was without a shirt, she reopened the door, taking a step into the open, dark pink-carpeted sitting area. There he was, strolling in, looking down at his Blackberry. He didn't even look up and notice her until after Sharpay's heart stopped beating. She blinked, staring into his more-turquoise eye, while he stood only five feet in front of her.

/

"They start asking you all these-"Troy stopped two steps shy of Faye Foster's side, his eyes locked on Sharpay. He looked over at Nolan, feeling like somebody's hands were wrapped around his neck. Or maybe it was just his words getting caught in his throat at the sight of Sharpay's bare midriff. In any other scenario, he probably wouldn't have minded. "Do I even want to know?"

"You're not Ryleigh…" Faye announced slowly, as if none of them had figured it out. She turned her head and her blue eyes landed on Troy. She examined his gaze, followed it over to Sharpay and then turned back to him, white teeth exposed as she smiled. "Oh, my god, is this her?" She turned back to Sharpay, her shoulder-length copper hair swishing over her black jacket. She looked her up and down, nodding pointedly at her exposed torso. "She's got a hot bod."

"Right?" Nolan agreed, giving Troy the urge to throw something at him. He knew Sharpay had a nice body. He didn't need, or even want, another guy commenting on it. Especially Nolan. He still didn't trust him.

"Troy." Sharpay's exaggerated whisper interrupted his thoughts. Like she could feel his blood starting to boil nervously in his veins, Sharpay took a step towards him, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him into the dressing room. She pulled the door shut and turned back to him, her brown eyes scanning up and down while he caught his balance. "What are you doing here?"

"Me? You're the one here with Nolan dressed like..." His eyes dropped down to the bra.

And what a nice bra it was.

She folded her arms across her chest and leaned her back against the door, visibly shivering. "You're giving me a lecture when you walk in with some girl I've never even seen before?"

"Faye? Sharpay, I've known her and her sister since kindergarten." Sharpay stayed silent, averting her eyes to the full size mirror on the wall in front of her. He continued, "At least I wasn't in boxers for her. Unlike your current equivalence."

"You're ridiculous."

"Am I?"

"Yes, Troy," She affirmed, turning her head. "Nolan has a girlfriend. Ryleigh. What can't you grasp about that concept?"

"I don't know." Troy mumbled, leaning his back against one of the light pink walls. He looked down at the darker pink carpet. It was true. He didn't have any idea. Had he always been this easy to make jealous? "It's just... Nolan. He gets to me."

"Don't you trust me?"

"Yes. That's not-"

"Then what's the problem?"

"I don't know." He repeated. He really didn't. He and Nolan had a very complicated relationship. He was in a position where he could trust him. And he could- with every other subject but girls.

"Would explaining make you feel better?" He didn't answer. He saw her feet step into his field of vision but he didn't look up. This jealous feeling was killing him. He rarely felt it, but when it hit him, it _hit him_. She continued, "Nolan got it into my head that if I didn't have suitable under garments you would go running for the hills."

Troy decided to look up, trying to keep himself from laughing. "And you believed him?"

He wasn't sure if she'd forgotten that she was in a torturously revealing lace bra or if she just didn't care. She shrugged casually, like she was wearing a parka. Troy was seeing things out of his peripheral vision that were making it very hard to keep his eyes on hers and maintain his relaxed veneer. "He's very persuasive."

"Who said I even wanted to see your bra?" He teased, watching as her face dropped. He lowered his eyebrows a fraction of an inch, examining her eyes. If she didn't get it in five seconds, he'd tell her. Five… four… three…

"I... You just..." Sharpay stuttered in response to his teasing. She spoke slowly, "I'll... get dressed then."

"I'll leave you to that." He agreed, nodding his head but making no further advances. He loved these games. He always had the upper hand. It was a gift. And it was working. Sharpay blinked, seeming confused again, her arms tightening around herself. He pushed away from the wall. "Call me. We'll hang out."

"No, no." She protested when his hand turned the doorknob. "You can't pull that with me."

"Pull what?"

"Stop that! I know your games."

Okay, maybe not working so well. He looked over his shoulder, face the picture of innocent, eyes not meeting hers. "What games?"

"Troy."

"Sharpay."

"_Troy_."

He raised an eyebrow at her knowing tone. "Yes?"

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "Look at me." He didn't move. There was obvious enjoyment in her voice when she spoke again. "I make Troy Bolton nervous. Score one for the transfer."

"What?" Troy rebutted, face contorting in denial. "I'm not nervous. Why would I be nervous?"

"Note to self, Troy Bolton gets jittery when nervous."

"Troy Bol- _I_ am not-" His eyes finally turned on Sharpay's. What was he saying, again? She smirked. "Now what was that about not wanting to see my bra?"

He shifted his jaw left and right once. "What happened to shy Sharpay?"

"What happened to big man on campus Bolton?"

"He met a girl that changed his ways."

"I hope you're talking about me."

"Gabriella, actually. She's quite the catch."

"Deadliest, maybe."

"Dead is what's going to become of any male at Eastwood if I catch them staring at you while you're wearing that."

Sharpay looked down at herself, a light blush dusting across her cheekbones. She looked up. "Are you saying you like it?"

"A little too much."

"Nolan likes it, too."

"Nolan can..." Troy trailed off, unsure of where he was going with that thought. Sharpay's head tilted to the side, waiting. He blinked. He lost his mojo. How did she do that?

"-get that mop of his cut?" She volunteered.

His eyes might as well have lit up the entire store. "Mop?"

"Mop... Like his hair? I don't know, it's like… wavy and light and getting long and..."

Could they elope? Please? Right now?

Someone send for a helicopter.

Sharpay seemed confused as to why Troy suddenly seemed so smitten. Having someone voice his mop head-theory aloud just sent him into a state of bliss. Especially since it was Sharpay. She bit the corner of her lip. "What did I say?"

Too enthused, he reached his arm out towards her, his hand sliding smoothly around her bare waist, leaving a trail of minuscule goose bumps. Without skipping a beat her arms curled over his shoulders, hand cupping the back of his neck. Her lips tasted like strawberries. And they were smooth. He didn't know how long they stayed like that, but it felt twenty minutes too short. She pulled her mouth away, her torso still leaning against his. He opened his eyes to her blinking her own open. She looked like she was in a peaceful daze. The comforting brown color made him forget what he'd even been worried about. Nolan. Pft. Nolan who? "Feel better?"

"Increasingly so." He replied, arms reflexively tightening around her back.

"Good." Sharpay smiled, tucking some of Troy's growing hair behind his ear, leaning up to peck his lips one last time. He was going to get a haircut before she started referring to him as a mop. "Now get out of here so I can get dressed."

He smirked and loosened his grip; allowing her to slowly, almost reluctantly, pull herself away. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Nolan invited me to dinner with his brother and... and a bunch of other people I don't know."

He nodded and kissed her forehead, reaching behind him for the door handle. "You'll know me."

Sharpay grinned softly. Enthusiastically. "Really?"

"Just... please don't wear this bra. I won't be able to concentrate." He admitted seriously. He could only control his hormones for so long. He didn't even know how much longer he could keep from letting his gaze drift south like a normal teenager. She could tell his strength was wavering. He could tell she could. She could tell he could tell she could.

She smirked.

Something in his stomach did a little flip.

/

So this is what Serena and Blair must do on their Friday nights... Well, you know, if they were craving thin crust pizza and weren't fictitious. Sharpay smiled up at the waiter as he took the menu from her hand. The menu at Serafina's Fabulous Pizza contained crazy mixtures like caviar and truffle pasta and pizza topped with pesto and pine nuts- Nolan's bold choice. She had taken the safe route and ordered the margherita pizza. She felt funny when Troy ordered the same exact thing except with buffalo mozarella. Was it weird that she thought having the same taste in cuisine was cute? Did he like dipping his chicken nuggets in salad dressing, too?

"You'll like it." Troy smiled in regards to her order, setting down whatever alcoholic beverage he'd ordered after taking a chug. That was another funny thing. The lack of ID needed to purchase said alcohol. It was like the wait staff had an unspoken pact with the wealthy, trendy youth.

You serve booze, we leave large tip.

"I wish I could say the same for Alex."

Alex looked away from his girlfriend, raising a blonde eyebrow. "Salmon is delicious. Smoked and Norwegian."

"But on a pizza?" Sharpay scrunched her nose. She wasn't a fan of fish.

"He knows he won't be kissing anyone until that taste is free from his mouth." His girlfriend smirked, nudging his side. Katelyn Boyd. Sitting across from Faye and next to her twin Felicia, her cropped strawberry blonde hair mixed with theirs gave the entire left side of the table a weird glow. Nolan made a disgusted noise as Alex leaned over to prove the senior wrong.

"Just what a guy wants to see. His friend molesting his sister."

Sharpay turned and saw a boy sliding behind Nolan's chair. He wore a dark red plaid shirt and no jacket, and unlike the three other shaggy haired boys at the table, his hair was neatly cropped, making his soft brown eyes easy to stare into. They were nice. Comforting. They reminded her of Jimmie's.

"When I said 8 I meant Eastern Standard, Patrick."

"Excuse you, neglectful sibling. Nona Boyd needed help arranging her freesias."

Troy lifted a hand in Patrick's direction, an amused grin on his lips. "Stop there before you say anything more emasculating."

"Shut up, pretty boy."

"How is Nona holding up?" Faye asked, swirling her toothpick around her drink as Troy snickered. Patrick sat in the empty seat between Nolan and Alex and looked across at her. "I heard she missed the Lupus Fundraiser last week."

"Oh, you know, she's..."

Seeing the confused and slightly uncomfortable look on Sharpay's face as she ran her fingers up and down the outside of her glass, Troy reached over, lacing them loosely with his as he tilted his mouth towards her ear. "Their grandmother is one of the oldest socialites on the Upper East Side."

Sharpay looked over at him. "My grandma lives in Miami..."

"Isn't that sweet?" The two turned and looked at Patrick, who tilted the glass of alcohol in his hand at their intertwined fingers, which a waiter had set down unnoticed. He must have stopped at the bar prior. Did bartenders not card in the city or something? He took a swig and set it down, offering a hand across the table to Sharpay. "Patrick Boyd."

"Sharpay Evans." She kept her hand in Troy's as she reached her other to catch Patrick's.

"Been looking forward to meeting you. Cal's going to be jealous I met you first."

Sharpay's brow furrowed slightly. He knew who she was, too? How? For how long? And who was this Cal person?

"How does everyone know who I am?" She asked, not really meaning to have said it aloud. She felt weird, everyone kept speaking like they knew her and she had no idea these people even existed until today. She looked over at Troy, who exchanged some sort of message with Patrick via eye contact, before looking back at her like nothing had happened. "Small state."

She looked over at Patrick, whose brown eyes were pointed towards Nolan. When she looked over at Nolan, his eyes seemed to be cast in Faye's direction… or Felicia's… she still wasn't sure about those two. What the hell was going on? She was in Hale. She could know secrets. She would buy the secrets if it came down to it- she still had the Black Card. She just wanted some sort of insight on what they all seemed to be sharing with each other. And how come Nolan could know? He wasn't even in Stuart! She looked back at Troy. "Troy..."

He raised an eyebrow. "Hm?" She blinked, as if it were obvious. She knew he knew it was. She didn't have to say it out loud. Slipping her hand out of his grip, she sat back in her chair, like a child giving their father the silent treatment. Troy let out a defeated sigh. Good. Maybe if he felt bad for her he'd take pity and, who knows, share? Her phone vibrated on the corner of the table. The text bubble from Nolan's screen read: '_He can't tell you. Not yet._'

She looked up at him, intrigued. '_Tell me what?_'

He shook his head slowly. '_I can't tell you either._'

Sharpay set her phone on her lap. Well, _that_ was helpful. She enjoyed cryptic texts as much as the next person, but actual information would be nice for once. She leaned back into the table, grabbing Nolan's gin and tonic and taking a too-fast sip. She winced as the strong, sour taste hit her throat. Luckily, no one but Nolan saw the face she made. They were already on to the next conversation about someone else she didn't know. She felt out of place. This wasn't her world, her friends, her life. She wasn't Tiara. She wasn't the type of person who went to trendy New York restaurants and ordered drinks underage without getting slack. She stood up from her chair, gripping her phone in her hand. Troy turned to her, bewildered. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing, I just need some air."

"Do you want-"

"No, no, sit. It's fine." She lied, sliding away from the table, weaving through the throngs of people until she made it outside. She didn't know what to do with herself. It wasn't like home here. Or like Eastwood. It was loud and crowded. It was almost uncomfortable. Maybe she could take a cab home and no one would notice. Troy had his friends. He'd be fine without her. She just didn't know if she'd be fine without him.

"He really likes you, you know."

Sharpay turned towards the owner of the voice and saw Felicia- Faye?- would a name tag be too much to ask?- at her side, lighting a cigarette. She gestured to the cancer stick, "Want one?" She shook her head. "Good for you. Troy would always yell at me and Tiara. 'It's a bad habit, Faye.' 'Lung cancer, T.' He's such a saint."

Sharpay nodded, her mind far off. She didn't think it possible for the great Tiara to have a flaw like nicotine addiction. Faye pushed her copper hair over her shoulder. "But he really does. Like you, I mean. Like... he _likes you_ likes you."

"Mm." Sharpay commented, not sure how to respond to that. Her stomach took it as a cue to do a swan dive.

"Don't be mad at him because he can't tell you the secrets of our screwed up world. You'll know in time."

"I'm not mad, I just feel... lost."

There was a pause as Faye took a thoughtful drag from her cigarette, blowing out the smoke. It reminded Sharpay of the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland. "Funny." She stated simply.

What? Did she think she was joking? "What is?"

"Huh?" Faye asked, coming back to the present. "Nothing, it's just... You know, Troy said that exact same thing when I saw him back in October for his birthday? When Tiara didn't come back. I asked him if he was mad at her... I think he was in some phase of depression. I didn't think he'd ever snap out of it... Lo and behold a few weeks later I start hearing about this new girl who isn't like the other Haleans. He described you so well over the phone that earlier today I thought we were already acquainted."

Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek as Faye blew a small puff of smoke into the November night air. Troy was talking about her? To his friends? For how long? What was he saying? Good things? Bad things? She was so very curious. But she couldn't very well ask, now, could she? The copper headed beauty must have heard the gears cranking in her head. "Nothing bad, I promise. He's so taken with you. You wouldn't believe how hard he's working to get you in."

Sharpay's forehead creased_. In?_

_/_

"She's got a bit of an attitude, no?"

"Look who's talking." Patrick rolled his eyes at his sister.

"And we can add rude." The senior continued, ignoring him and the look Troy was giving her. "Really, who just walks out like that?"

"A girl clearly uncomfortable in her surroundings?" Nolan offered.

"Seriously, babe, she lived in like... the desert."

"Albuquerque isn't a desert, Alex."

The blonde shrugged and Troy straightened up in his chair as a waitress set his order of pizza in front of him. He simply stared at the thin crust, wondering what Faye and Sharpay were talking about outside. He prayed it was nothing embarrassing. He could live without Sharpay knowing he went to Britney concert with them in fourth grade.

"Are you sure she's right?" Katelyn asked in Troy's direction. Felicia answered for him. "Of course she is. You saw her file."

"Who are you to judge?" Troy responded. "You were wait-listed until last year."

She narrowed her eyes. Troy raised an eyebrow and broke a piece of crust off his pizza. The wait list. The wait list for the underground society. It signalled uncertainty. If you weren't accepted immediately after the research-and-consideration phase it meant you weren't perfect. And Sharpay was perfect. He could tell. Katelyn Boyd had nothing on her.

"I still don't understand. Wasn't she poor up until like... a month ago?" Katelyn asked, obviously annoyed. "Isn't that when Lindsay's father offered her mom the job?"

Lindsay. As in Lindsay Ross. As in the Lily of Prospect Academy. Daughter of the man who owned the largest chain of construction and development firms on the east coast. The firm that Sharpay's mother now worked for. It wasn't a coincidence. "They were upper middle class. It's not like she was discovered while on vacation at a Quality Inn in Pennsylvania."

"No... It was Jersey, wasn't it?"

"Shut up, Kate," Nolan, Troy, and Felicia said in unison.

Katelyn reached for her drink slowly. "Whatever."

"Like Fox would ever set foot in a Quality Inn." Patrick snickered. "He's the one who found her, wasn't he?"

Murray Fox. Or Fox, as known by his peers. James Wiley of Prospect. Much adored by much of the female population. Most, actually. Not to mention he was Troy's cousin. His father's sister's son. Fox was to the Plaza what Troy was The Four Seasons. If he weren't visiting their other cousin Rebecca, he'd probably be sitting at the table right now.

"In Maui, yeah." Troy affirmed, nodding vacantly, recalling the first time he'd heard about Sharpay last year. Little did he know the blonde girl his cousin met while at a restaurant during summer break would have such a pull on him now. Funny how things worked out. He wondered if, instead of taking Tiara to Paris, he had gone to Maui with Rebecca and Fox... if he would have met Sharpay. If he would have noticed her. If he would have felt feelings for her. Feelings he felt for Tiara. The feelings he felt now. And if he had, would he have done anything about it? How would he have handled it? It was too complicated to think about for more than three minutes at a time.

"Isn't she a conflict of interest? Now that you two are public..." Felicia paused, taking a bite out of a slice of pizza. She had ordered one with... Olives? Interesting.

"Me and Tiara were together when she was in consideration."

"You weren't in yet, though. You weren't even in Stuart. You weren't-"

"I get it, Leesh."

"But wait," Felicia continued, leaning her elbow on the table and lifting her hand in a '_hold-up_' manner, "if it was conflict of interest, wouldn't Fox be a problem, too?"

Troy's eyes narrowed slightly. "Why would that be conflict of interest?"

Felicia and Patrick exchanged a glance. Alex suddenly became very interested in his girlfriend's hand. Katelyn watched as he examined the creased on her knuckles. Nolan was the only one who made eye contact, avoiding speaking by taking a large taste of his drink. Why was Murray Fox a conflict of interest? Why? "Someone better-"

A hand touched his shoulder, dragged across his back and then clapped his opposite shoulder. He watched Faye take her seat on his left. She flashed a smile and Troy tried to muster one back. It came out more as a grimace. Now was not the time. He looked back to see Sharpay sitting down, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear. She turned her head slowly towards him, smiling softly. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head, catching her hand. It was cold from being outside. She shuddered. "Don't apologize."

Just tell me everything you and my cousin did in Maui.

* * *

Okay, let me try to clear up some of the confusion. I'll try to go in order of appearance.

Prospect Academy : Eastwood

Faye/Felicia Foster : Gabriella (except people actually like them and they aren't quite so devious)

Katelyn Boyd : Angela-ish?

Patrick Boyd : Jason

Murray Fox : James

Lindsay Ross : Lily

And the 'Cal' that Patrick referred to sort of like Troy.

And Rebecca is Troy and Fox's cousin.

And that's it, I think. I guess if you have questions you can PM me. Review (:


	22. You're It

"So all prep school upper-hierarchy are gorgeous, then?"

"We're a lucky bunch."

"I'd say. Did you see Patrick's eyes?" Sharpay smiled dreamily, looking over at Troy. As if anybody's eyes could really compare to his. She sank further into the plush couch in the living area of Troy's suite at The Four Seasons, where the two of them had retreated after dinner. While Alex and Katelyn had scurried off to the Boyd's apartment on Madison and 76th, the others had gone off to club-hop in the Meatpacking District. Sharpay had never even heard of the Meatpacking District, and was more than happy to see if the clubs took place in, like, slaughter houses- she'd decided if they were she would become vegetarian- but Troy had suggested a cozier after party on his 51st floor suite.

And who in their right mind could say no?

"Well... I'm higher up than him... I mean..." Troy stuttered, straightening up as he tried to defend himself. She bit the inside of her cheek. He was adorable even when he was flustered, and the fact that she was the one to make him this way was just incomprehensible. Girls like her just couldn't work magic like that on guys like him. His cheeks started to turn a rosy pink before she put a hand over his and squeezed. "Who am I to judge, Troy Bolton? Look who you're talking to."

He responded by squeezing her fingers and lifting their intertwined hands to his lips, pressing them against her knuckles. Sharpay's entire body warmed up. "Don't belittle yourself."

"Do you blame me?" She mumbled. Troy lowered their hands but kept his thumb smoothing over hers. "Is your mom not the chief developer of one of Manhattan's most prominent construction companies?" She kept her mouth shut, looking down at her lap. He answered for her. "Yes. Are you attending an expensive private school at which you are a member of a century old legacy? Yes. Did you not frolic Manhattan with a Black AmEx today? Is your parental unit currently unaware of your whereabouts? Are you not wearing-?"

"I get it." Sharpay mumbled again.

"You are, in more ways than one, in the same position as everyone you had dinner with tonight... Exactly like me." She finally decided to turn her head back towards Troy. His blue eyes were latched firmly in her direction, earnest and deep. She practically melted into the supple leather of the modern furniture underneath her. "You don't need a title to prove it."

She went back and forth between each eye, wanting nothing more than to just kiss him. Hard. For a long time. "It wouldn't hurt..."

He smirked and leaned his lips against hers, leaving a kiss much too short and much too soft to be fully enjoyed. "If Gabriella keeps up the trying-to-kill-you antics, you might get that wish."

Sharpay was torn as to which she wanted more; letting her hormones pull Troy on top of her or knowing more about the inner workings of Hale. She chose the latter. She could always get back to the first one. "You mean she could get kicked out of Hale?"

He nodded, a lock of brown hair falling in front of his eyes. "Not that she'd let it get that far. She has other things she's working towards. And if she gets booted from Hale, there's no hope for her. And she knows it."

Other things? Was there something better than Hale? Was it at Eastwood? Could Sharpay get in? Deep breath. "Like what?"

Troy's eyes narrowed slightly, like he was trying to make something out. He kept his eyes cast down at their hands, resuming the act of absent-mindedly stroking her thumb. "Nothing important."

Uh... Okay?

Sharpay could tell Troy was uncomfortable talking about whatever it was he was trying to hide, so she decided to move on, not wanting to be locked in a luxury suite with a ticked off hotel heir. Even if she w_as _itching to know the answers to her questions on the ever growing Questions Troy And The Others Keep Avoiding list. So much so she might need reconstructive skin surgery. "Um... But wouldn't Kelsi be the one to take over if Gabriella were to leave?"

"Not necessarily. I mean, it could be Taylor, for all I know."

"I don't understand," she stated simply.

"I just mean that it's not a next-in-line sort of thing. That's why Jason isn't in my spot even though his brother was the president of Stuart last year. And why Nolan isn't in even though his brother is. See, if it works like Stuart does, the women in charge of Hale will pick three possible class leaders. Then there's a vote by the important people of both houses- in this case, Lily and Angela and James and Vince. If there's a tie they'd probably bring Alex and Brooke into it, too, I don't know. And Lily and Kelsi aren't exactly on good terms right now." He finally shook the hair from his eyes and looked up at her, a confidently knowledgeable smile lighting up his face. "I wouldn't hesitate to say y_ou _are Lily's top contender."

Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek as the color crept up her neck. "Don't feed me thoughtful lies, Bolton."

"I wouldn't lie to you," he corrected earnestly, paired with a reassuring hand squeeze. "Really. Think about it. Lily loves you. James loves you. The Foster twins love you- and their mom went to Hale, so she has some clout on the board... You're it, Sharpay."

Was it so wrong for her to have wished him to add another statement onto that list? I.e. Ilove you? She blinked her brown eyes at him, suddenly feeling very warm and hopeful. "Maybe I should let Gabriella try to kill me just one more time, then..."

"As much of a joke as I hope that is, I'm going to have to firmly object," He smiled teasingly, propping his foot up against the glass coffee table.

"But you're y_ou._ Mr. Alpha. I'm just some transfer sharing a bathroom with Lily Moore. I'm actually still trying to understand how you like me."

"You're not," He insisted once again. "And I like you because you're not like Lily and Gabriella and Faye. You don't talk down to people because you're in Hale. You don't expect things to just come to you or try to impress anyone by pretending to be like them. You… You smack Jason and can form a sentence around James. You're cute and you're smart and you care and you're just… y_ou._" While Troy took a breath Sharpay tried to calm the blush that had covered her cheeks. She wasn't sure if it was his cheesily perfect romantic monologue or the way his eyes were sparkling like the stars hidden by the bright lights of the city, but the fluttering butterflies in her stomach sent a line of goose bumps up her spine. "But even if you were just that girl, the one you t_hink _you are, do you think I would care?"

"Wouldn't that be breaking rules?"

"What? Having feelings for the Lily's unfitting transfer bathroom buddy?" She nodded, Troy shrugged. "Wouldn't care."

Sharpay pushed her boots from her ankles, sliding her feet onto the couch. "What if your friends stopped talking to you?"

"I'd have you to talk to."

"And if your parents disowned you?"

"Not even an option for them."

"If Vanessa Hudgens came along and wanted to whisk you away to Hawaii and get married?"

"_Well_..." Sharpay unlaced her fingers from his and smacked his sweater-covered bicep. His glorious and muscular sweater-covered bicep. "Kidding! I'd tell her to go run back to Zac Efron... Even though I personally think he should have dated Ashley Tisdale."

She nodded, not really paying attention as Troy snuck his fingers back in between her own. "She's much prettier."

"_You're_ much prettier." He corrected.

Now... what was that other thing she wanted to do?

/

Troy made absolutely no attempt at resisting Sharpay when she leaned in towards him. And why would he? When he wasn't thinking about where Sharpay was or whom she was with or if she was thinking about him too- he was thinking about kissing her. He'd even had a dream about their, er, study session last night. Except Jason hadn't walked in and they hadn't had to wake up for school the next morning. Obviously French kissing makes for all the better French class test taking skills. She squeezed his hand one last time before releasing it, and bringing it around his neck. She did that thing where her fingers ruffled through his hair; something he realized gave him the goose bumps every time they kissed. Good goose bumps. _Great_ goose bumps.

He let his feet fall off the edge of the glass table in front of him, his hand snaking between Sharpay and the couch. She must have taken his hand curling around her waist as a signal to come on over. His smile melted against her non-sticky glossed lips while her leg slid over his legs and she sat back on his thighs, taking her lips with her_. Why_? He opened his eyes despite the protest from his heavily disappointed lids. "Your parents aren't going to walk in, are they?"

He shook his head, the pointer finger of his right hand drawing the outline the left pocket of her jeans. She had nice legs. "They're somewhere in Europe."

"A maid or something?"

"No one's coming in, Sharpay." He affirmed, smiling at her innocent worries. She didn't seem convinced. _Hm... What to do..._ In a flash of an idea, he readjusted his grip around her waist and the other arm- in a totally non-gropey sort of way- rested underneath her ass so that she wouldn't slide to the ground while he stood up. It was like he carried around his younger cousin Alison when they vacationed in the summer. Not that he was comparing Sharpay to a five year old who packed her entire Barbie collection just to go to the family villa on St. Barths for a week.

Sharpay's arms tightened nervously around his neck while he tried to work his way around the couch. Her cheek was pressed against his shoulder and he could smell the vanilla scent of her shampoo while she spoke against his neck, "Where are we going?"

"Someone nowhere will be walking in."

Not to sound creepy or anything…

That somewhere happened to be his bedroom, which was surprisingly hard to navigate into whilst one Sharpay Evans was leaving trails of kisses across his jaw, down his neck, up to his ear, and back again. He removed his arm from underneath her, using it to press the door shut. Her lips went straight back to his, as if she were lost in the desert and he were an icy bottle of Fiji- a necessity. Her legs unlatched from their secured position around his torso and she reached for the ground. He felt the smirk on her lips before she pulled away, her chin tilted upwards towards him. "What makes your bedroom so safe?"

He couldn't help but smile back. She had one of those faces that just made it impossible to frown at. She was too pretty. Especially now, when her eyes were slightly glazed over in satisfaction and her bangs were lazily falling over them. "The fact it can only be unlocked from the inside."

He twisted the brass knob to locked position to emphasize his point. To his disappointment, she slipped out of his arms and walked further into the open bedroom. It was fairly neat, like his side of the room back at Stuart. His home-only-for-four-days duffel bag was sitting on the floor open, and a few shirts were hanging out of one of the dresser drawers, but besides that it was neat. His bookshelf filled half with DVDs was organized thoughtfully by title. Random picture frames and trophies from middle school sports teams decorated his dresser. He'd personalized the otherwise fancily generic hotel room with a forest green comforter and bedding set made over his king sized mattress; a bed he'd always felt was far too large. But it was ridiculously comfortable so he'd never complained. Sharpay sauntered carelessly over to the bed- the corners of which had been pulled down by maid service, Troy guessed- and hopped on. Now that he thought about it, he'd never had a girl in here before. Except for Faye... And Felicia... And- let's rephrase that. He'd never had a girl he _like_ liked in his bedroom before. Not even Tiara.

Sharpay pat the bed next to her and Troy made his way over, placing his hands on either side of her legs and leaning in to kiss her. "You don't think I'm a slut, do you?"

Troy opened his half-shut eyes, a mere two inches from Sharpay's blinking brown ones. "What? Of course not."

"I'm sorry for being so random, I just..." She trailed off, playing with the grey fabric covering his elbow. "Do you remember what Kelsi said?"

"When?" He asked, trying to remember for himself.

"The other night when we were..." Ah, yes, he remembered now- the night, not what Kelsi had said. He remembered how good it felt when Sharpay's fingers were running down his back. He remembered how soft her skin was. He remembered the spot at the corner of her neck that was especially sensitive. Sharpay seemed to remember other things. Things he couldn't recall. But he was a guy. He couldn't help it. " '_That's the type of girl you are_.' "

"Making out with someone does not make you a slut, Sharpay. Especially if it's only one person and you have feelings for them." Troy pulled one hand up and pushed the bangs away from her eyes and behind her ear. "Assuming it is only me and you haven't been sneaking around with Jason."

Sharpay visibly relaxed, her eyes brightening. He really wanted her to say something now, deny any wavering feelings for other men. Especially now that he was so worried that Sharpay and Jason were having their own secret playtime while he was sleeping. He _was_ always extra tired in the morning...

"Definitely not." She grinned up at him. "I just feel like I'm always pushing myself onto you."

"That's just because my mom raised me on a very strict do-not-push policy. I have these old school mannerisms hardwired into my system. Don't get me wrong, I think about pushing. It's just that, unlike other guys our age, I know how to resist." Troy decided to cut himself off there, stopping before he could tell her that being with her made resisting very very hard. He didn't want to come off as the horny teenager that Sharpay seemed to think she was. "You're not a slut." He added again for good measure, but Sharpay seemed grateful but unconvinced. What was he going to have to do to get her to stop thinking about Kelsi?

Hint: It involves skin and rhymes with flabdominals.

"What if," he started slowly, trying to plan this out in his head. "What if I tried to be Mr. Pushy Initiator. I may not do a good job, but I'll get it eventually."

She bit the inside of her cheek, something he came to notice she was doing when her cheek would concave slightly. "But you've already got me cornered on the bed... Push me back on the mattress and your job's done."

"What, do you want to go hide somewhere?"

Sharpay bit the corner of her lip. Irre-fucking-sistable. "Kind of."

Troy shrugged and straightened up. "Go for it," he said, watching as she slid of the bed with a childish smile playing on her lips. She unlocked the door and went in either direction. "Don't forget to count!" She shouted back playfully.

Truth be told, Troy had been a mean Hide and Seek player back in the day. That is, if you counted hiding from the nanny and the maids. When his parents would have to jet off for some hotel conference or business meeting he'd run off in the hotel and hide anywhere so that they wouldn't leave. The laundry room, behind the receptionist's desk, empty dining carts... Hopefully Sharpay wasn't going to take the game that seriously. He ignored the counting rule and made his way out into the open living area. He walked around the couch, looked behind the curtains, and in the kitchen area. Nothing. He thought back to his younger days. About all the dark places he'd exhausted. Then he got it.

"Oldest spot in the books." He commented, shaking his head as he opened the closet door. She took a step back into the coats. "And yet it _still_ took you this long to find me."

"I don't enjoy that kind of sass talk, Miss Evans."

"Yeah, Mister Mannerisms? What are you going to do, compliment me to death?" She played with the hem of her shirt, and that stupid look Nolan told him about shone in her eyes as she gazed up at him. Did she know it was there? Did she know what she was doing? What was he supposed to do about it? _Right. Push. No manners. Man up, Troy_. And that is how Sharpay ended up half thrown over his shoulder. He held onto the back of her legs easily while she made attempts to break free from his grip without really wanting to be set down.

"I'm not a sack of potatoes, you caveman!" Sharpay managed in-between spurts of laughter, hands pushing against his back. He set her down gently once back in his bedroom, his arm keeping a hold of her waist while she tried to wiggle free.

"Caveman?" Troy asked, pressing the door shut once more. "That's it. You're locked in. No Bristol for you tonight."

She pressed both of her small palms against his chest and looked up at him, still smiling. "Oh, you're _soooo_ cruel."

"Never to you." He smiled back, ignoring the lock, and leaning to kiss Sharpay. Her hands gripped at his shirt as she tiptoed to kiss him back. It was a messy process, trying to make it over towards the bed while removing his shoes and keeping his lips pressed against hers. He relished the feeling of her cautiously wandering hands zigzagging over his torso, fingers exploring the skin in-between his shirt and his jeans. Had she done this a million times before? Because the raging butterflies were ultra-responsive to everywhere her fingertips touched.

He let his one hand float up the curvature of her hip before resting it just south of her waist. He liked how it was so easy to be with Sharpay, whether or not they were attached by the lips. It was instinctual. Like they'd known each other for more than two weeks. Her arm would curl around his neck while his wrapped around her waist just perfectly. He felt so in sync with her. Like this was what he was supposed to have been doing his whole life. But then his mother's voice crept his way into the front of his thoughts. _Don't push things too far. Go slow. Don't be aggressive towards women._

Troy pulled his head back, instantly regretting the loss of contact. Her eyes blinked open slowly, surveying his probably lustful stare. "Sharpay, I'm not... We don't have to do anything right now."

Sharpay's fingers fell away from his skin and a slightly hurt look passed over her. No. He didn't like that look at all. "You don't want to." _Words can't even describe how much,_ Troy wanted to retaliate, but Sharpay continued on, "I told you I was pushy. Kelsi's right I am a-"

"Stop." Troy ordered, softly but more authoritative than he'd meant. She gazed up at him, lips parted, waiting. "You aren't. I just don't want to ruin this by going to fast too soon. Ruin us."

"I'm not asking you to ravish me, Troy."

Not that she would protest if he were to try.

"I don't want you to think I'm one of those guys who's only in it for the physical aspect."

"Then I probably shouldn't tell you that a fourth of my thoughts of _you_ consist of the physical aspect?" Sharpay admitted, biting the inside of her cheek again. What were the others? His eyes, his arms, and his lips?

"Not unless you want to endure the wrath of teenage testosterone."

"I'm pretty sure I could endure anything involving you." She spoke quietly, just above a whisper, kind of like she was unsure if she wanted to say it out loud. Her cheeks turned a light side of pink, making her even more of a challenge to resist. And that's when he decided he didn't want to anymore. He couldn't. He tilted his head down, his lips lushly pressed against hers in what could only be described as the deepest kiss ever. His grip tightened involuntarily around her while her hand cradled the side of his neck. By the time he'd realized he was depriving his lungs of oxygen, Sharpay's back had begin to arch against his sweater.

Troy fell powerless to the smile on Sharpay's lips, practically melting with joy at the sight of it. He closed his eyes and caught her lower lip momentarily. Her fingers pressed a little deeper into his neck. He whispered into her ear, "Just tell me when to stop."

How about never?

/

Sharpay heard the chorus of Hey Mama by the Black Eyed Peas coming from the other room behind Troy's closed door. On the ride from Eastwood to New York she'd reprogrammed all of her ring tones. Jimmie's Milkshake was feeling very Albuquerque. Just about every one of her regular contacts had a special ring tone. Troy was special though. He had two. If he texted it was LaLa by Ashlee Simpson. If he called it was One Time by Justin Beiber. He sounded like a ten year old but it reminded her of Troy- the lyrics, not the pre-pubescent voice. She was secretly waiting for enough time to pass for it to be appropriate to say the L word. Where Troy could say 'Girl I love, girl I love you.' And she could say it back and they'd live sappily ever after.

She kept her cheek pressed against Troy's bare chest, counting his heartbeats. They weren't even covered by Troy's comforter and yet his skin was nice and warm. Her phone stopped ringing in the other room and Troy shifted slightly in his sleep, his arm tightening around her half-naked torso. Yes, Troy had seen the bra. Not that he hadn't already seen it in the Victoria's Secret dressing room, but still, it was monumental. He hadn't seen anything else though, which was a relief. Not that she didn't trust him. Hell, she was basically ready to profess her love at first sight. Still, she got the nervous jitters every time Troy's hand ventured south of her belly button. They'd wrestled around for what felt like hours until they'd simultaneously worn each other out. She'd woken up ten minutes ago but couldn't bear to wake him up with her. He was too adorable.

Sharpay cuddled a little closer to Troy, resting her palm over his ribs. The second she closed her eyes her phone rang again. What, her mom could leave hand-scribbled notes on the coffee table and send text messages but Sharpay couldn't just leave a voicemail? Lidia was ridiculous. She decided to ignore this call, too, hiding her face against Troy's skin. She felt a pair of lips press into her scalp and bit back her smile. "Is that your phone ringing?"

_You interrupted Troy's beauty sleep. Strike one, Lidia_. "It's just my mom."

"Should you get it?" He asked groggily into her hair.

She shook her head, turning over onto his chest and looking up at him. His eyes weren't even open, but his arms wrapped protectively around her back, like he wasn't going to let her go either way._ Totally_ okay with her. "She'll give up."

"Does she know where you are?"

"She knows I'm at my friend's apartment." Not a guy friend, though. Not a guy friend who she happened to really like… _love_ like. That she was laying semi-topless with right now. That had hands that were trailing up and down the length of her spine. The phone stopped ringing. Sharpay grinned, "See?"

Troy opened his eyes slowly. They were so beautiful. Like different shades of ocean water. Sharpay was mesmerized. He rotated his body, leaning half on top of Sharpay. She smiled as he brushed his lips over hers softly. He tucked blonde strands of hair behind her ear as she opened her eyes. "Morning."

She smiled goofily, unable to contain herself. She pictured waking up like this every morning for the rest of her life. Except, you know, on their wedding day. That'd be bad luck. "Morning." She repeated, already ready for another kiss. Oh god, her breath didn't smell, did it? His mouth caught her bottom lip and that god-forsaken ring tone sounded off again. She was ready to throw the damn thing out the window and into 57th St. traffic. Her hands fell, defeated, from their spot on his arms. "_What_ is her problem."

Troy buried his face into the crook of her neck; his breath was warm while his lips tickled her skin. "She's worried about you." Kiss. Flutter. Kiss. Shiver. "You should go answer it."

"I don't want to," she whined, feeling like a two year old who didn't want it to be nap time.

"Don't get me in trouble with Lidia." Troy soothed, lips tickling a soft spot at her collarbone. How did he even remember her mom's name? She hadn't mentioned it since that first day at the lake. God, he _was_ perfect, wasn't he?

"Fine, if you want to get rid of me." Sharpay caved and tried to slide out from underneath him. He made it extremely difficult, tugging her backwards and leaving another painfully enjoyable kiss on her lips. "You're coming right back here when you're done. You can't get away that easily."

As if she'd ever make an attempt to get away at all.

She kissed him one more time before sneaking out into the open space of the living area brightened by the sun shining through the giant windows. The view of the city was amazing. The green of Central Park stood out against the metallic skyscrapers. It took her a few moments to find where she'd dropped her bag and to fish her phone out. She lifted the iPhone to her ear and looked back in the direction of Troy's bedroom. "Yes, mom?"

"Excuse me? Is that how you answer the phone?"

Sharpay gritted her teeth. Paranoid Lidia was by far the most annoying. "Hello, mom. How are you doing this morning?"

"Don't be sassy. I just came home and realized you weren't here. No note? No phone call?"

She'd just gotten home? Ewh. Where had she been? Out clubbing with Nolan, Patrick, and the Fosters downtown? God forbid. "I did call, actually. You didn't pick up so I left a voicemail. I slept over a friends'. What about you?"

"I'm a grown woman, Sharpay Elizabeth." Ugh, the middle name. Why couldn't her grandmother have had a name from this century?

Sharpay pulled a thought from the back of her brain. Something Nolan had said yesterday. The Black Card. The note. "You're not dating anyone, mom... are you?"

She took the long pause as a yes. "What makes you ask that?"

Sharpay took a few steps back towards the bedroom. She wanted to turn her curiosity off and get back to the hot shirtless boy on the bed. "Just being curious."

"Well... I don't want to lie to you. But I don't want to jinx it by talking about it."

She pushed the door open just enough to take a peak. Troy was sprawled out on his stomach, cheek implanted in the pillow. It was weird to think about her mom dating. Her dad had died years ago, back when she was four, and Sharpay had a hard time really remembering him. It wasn't like she expected her mom to stay single for the rest of her life- she was only 37- but it was strange to picture her with anyone else. "How long?"

"Sorry?" There was some rustling on the other line, and Sharpay really hoped she wasn't with him right now. Making out or something. Adults kissing... _Blech_.

"How long have you been seeing him?"

"About four months." Sharpay choked on the air she was breathing. Her mom was joking. She had to be. They'd been back home four months ago. She'd had a different job four months ago. She'd been flirty with Dean Lucas last week. Not that she blamed her mom for that last one. He was pretty gorgeous for an older guy. Troy heard her coughing and opened one of his eyes, mouthing a curious, "You okay?"

She nodded and scratched her throat. When did she and her mom start keeping secrets? Then again, Sharpay had technically lied about her whereabouts. Clearly New York was changing them both. "Are you kidding me?"

"I'm sorry, sweetie. We decided we weren't going to tell anybody."

"Are you guys... I mean..." Sharpay didn't even know what she meant. She just couldn't comprehend the situation.

"I really like him, Sharpay. He's... special."

One look over at Troy and she understood. Understood one hundred percent. She and her mom were almost going through the same time of situation. Almost. A little bit. In a weird way. Or not at all. "Would… I mean... would daddy like him?"

She could practically hear Lidia's sentimentally reminiscent smile through the phone. "Yeah, sweetie, he would."

God. Her mom was such a hopeless romantic. Maybe that's where she'd gotten it. Romance must be genetic. "Then I guess I can condone it."

"Gee, sweetie, thank you." Lidia laughed and there was more rustling. "Listen, I have to get back to work. Be home for dinner, please?"

"Sure. Bye, mom." Sharpay finished, placed her phone on one of Troy's dressers and, finally realizing she was without a shirt, shivered. When she crawled back onto the bed, Troy lifted his arm and pulled her into him, pressing a kiss to her temple. She melted into his side, wrapping her arm up around his shoulder. "Everything alright?"

"My mom's got a boyfriend." God, it felt weird to say that out loud.

"Do you know who it is?"

"Not a clue," she admitted. She didn't want to talk about this. There were much more productive things she could be doing with her mouth. She closed her eyes and kissed his arm, then his chest, and then his sternum. Troy caught on and rolled onto his back, pulling Sharpay on top of him. He opened his eyes just enough to warm her entire body. "You don't get tired, do you?"

She grinned and shook her head slowly. "Big man on campus can't stand the heat? Maybe I should have just let Jason show me around last Monday..."

"Maybe..." He sighed and closed his eyes again. Sharpay's eyes widened in fear. She couldn't tell if he was joking or not. Her heart picked up a nervous pace. _Please be joking. _Please_ be joking._ "And maybe I should invite Gabriella to come stay with me in over holiday break."

Words could not express Sharpay's relief. She pressed another kiss in the middle of his collarbone. Then another on his neck, on his chin, just working her way up, trying to get Troy to move. Or open his eyes. Or kiss her back. Or something. Great, she was being pushy again. She started to pull away but Troy's arms locked her in place. He opened his eyes all the way this time, smirking up at her, looking fully awake. "Who said you could stop?"

Round two, anyone?

His grip turned into more of a hold as Sharpay shimmied up to reach his lips. Yes. This was good. This was better than any breakfast she'd ever eaten. His tongue slid over her bottom lip while she dragged her fingers down over his chest and stomach muscles. She drew a finger over his hipbone. Suddenly her jeans felt very constricting.

/

Troy heard Sharpay mumble his name into his lips. He opened his eyes while she was blinking her own open. Between her skin and her fingers toying with the waistband of his boxers peaking out of the tops of his jeans, he was finding it increasingly hard to concentrate on just talking. He lifted his hands from their positions on either her ribs or her hip. He was being pushy. He knew it. "What's the matter?"

"I'm being pushy, aren't I?"

He almost laughed. "Are you-?"

"I'm serious."

"You've got to get this thought out of your head. If anyone's guilty, it's me."

"You're barely touching me." She traced over his collarbone with her pinky. Chills. "I think you're turning me into an animal."

"We're teenagers." He reasoned, playing with the back pocket of her jeans. "We're allowed to be like this."

"Some more than others," She corrected. Alright, this her-thinking-she's-overly-horny thing needed to stop. He used momentum to roll Sharpay onto her back, looking down at her with serious eyes even though she'd steadied herself by gripping his jeans and his mind was thinking of _other_ things at the moment.

"Listen to me." She blinked innocently and bit the inside of her cheek. "I'm a guy. I have no problem being pushed into these scenarios. The only person who needs to watch themselves is me."

"Trust me, you've done absolutely nothing out of line."

"And I'd like to keep it that way."

"Just, please..." She pleaded, brown eyes glistening. "I'll tell you if you're pushing, just don't treat me like a porcelain doll."

That would probably be hard. Even if she did have obvious muscle definition, her flat stomach and thin legs made it clear that she was just barely a size 2. "I won't." He promised.

After she'd given a genuinely accepting smile, he decided it was okay to kiss her again. She must have decided it, too, because after a few seconds she was beckoning him closer by pulling at his side. Her fingers were kind of cold, but a chill ran through him for a completely different reason. With the hand he wasn't using to prop himself up, he ran his hand along the length of her torso, lingering over the side of that god-forsaken purple bra but stopping at the curve of her waist, deciding it was his favorite. Her denim-clad leg bent and leaned against his, creating a not-so-uncomfortable friction warmth between their limbs.

He was trying to keep her words in his head. To not treat her like a fragile little doll. But it was easier said than done. His hand stayed tangled in her hair, his mouth firmly latched on hers, but what else was he supposed to do? He liked Sharpay too much to mess everything up by accidentally doing the wrong thing. She made him cautious and, unlike any other girl, almost... _nervous_. He wanted more than anything to be with Sharpay. Forever, even. He could no longer picture himself with anyone else. It was like Sharpay was the missing piece of the puzzle. It was possible that he, Troy Bolton, was… was… _falling in love_. Someone stop the presses.

Tiara who?

Sharpay's hands slid to the center of his torso, once again managing to give him the chills, and traced a straight line down his navel. Was it him or were her fingers trembling as they stopped over the button of his jeans? He knew what she was going for. Knew what she wanted. He also knew what _he_ wanted. He just wasn't sure if following through with it was the right thing to do. At this place. This moment in time. No matter how badly part of him wanted it.

She pulled back again, shaky fingers frozen over the circular piece of metal. He lifted his head, trying to bring his breathing back to normal. Neither of them said anything. Not verbally anyway. But if you could speak through motions and glances...

She bit the corner of her lip.

He blinked.

She slid the button from its loop.

He slid his hand around her lower back.

She leaned up to kiss him.

He-

"Meester Bolton, are you awake?"

-sighed in defeat.

Troy dropped his head against her neck. Damn the maids. Damn them to hell. A wave crashed over his waves. It was the sort of feeling when you're watching a scary movie and the eerie music is playing. The main character is creeping down a dark hallway, positive that the noise coming from the hallway is the sound of her boyfriend being chopped into pieces. But when she finally reached the end, it's just the sound of the radiator. Troy didn't even know it was possible to feel that sort of suspense-and-release in every day life. Sharpay pulled back her hands like she'd just touched a hot skillet and curled them in between both of their chests. If this was awkward for him, he didn't even want to know how bad it was for her.

"Ay dios... Lo siento, Meester Bolton! I'm very sor-ree." Rosa, the same maid who had been coming to his suite since he was fourteen, tried to apologize. Her English was no better than the first time he'd met her. He rolled himself away from Sharpay, handing her a pillow to cover her clearly embarrassed self. She sat up next to him, tucking her bangs behind her ear. "Ah, you must bee Mees Tiara."

Troy's jaw dropped faster than a public school senior's pants at the hotel after prom. Gracias, Rosa. Mucho _fucking _gracias.

"No Rosa, this is Sharpay." He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, too afraid to make full eye contact. He saw her profile, a forced smile on her lips but obvious hurt in her eyes. Her arms were crossed, the pillow covering her exposed skin. He wanted to give her a hug. A big hug.

"Good morning, Mees Sharpay. Will you bee staying for breakfast weeth Meester Troy?" The heavy Latin accent got very annoying very quickly. Where had this woman moved from, again?

"Um," Sharpay started, avoiding Troy's hopeful and apologetic stare. She slid off the bed and picked her shirt off the floor. "I should probably, uh, get home, Rosa. But thank you."

Maria managed an "Of course, Mees" before Sharpay slid into the bathroom and shut the door. Troy ran his hand over his face.

So strikes the ghost of girlfriends past.

/

Stop crying over nothing, Sharpay. It was accident. Tiara's gone. Troy likes you. You like him. That's all that matters.

Sharpay sat down on the ledge of the large bathtub in Troy's bathroom. She pulled down her sleeves and leaned her elbows on the pillow covering her lap. She heard a door shut behind the closed door and wiped carefully at her mascara-ed eye. Troy could probably hear her sniffling and overreacting. Just what she wanted. On cue, she heard a rap at the door.

"Can I come in?"

"Your bathroom," she replied somberly, making sure all traces of tears were gone from her eyes and cheeks before he could feel sorry for her. Thank God for waterproof eye products.

Troy opened the door slowly, sticking his head in first before walking in. He'd put on a red short sleeve shirt that had Prospect Academy Crew written on it in grey letters. He did Crew? Had he gone to another school before Eastwood? He looked down at her, stuffing his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. To think she'd been _this _close to removing them. "I'm so sorry."

She shook her head and kept her gaze fixated on her fingernails. She needed a manicure. Maybe she should go get one. Right now. "It's not a big deal. I'm just being stupid."

"Shar-"

"Really. No biggie." She stood up and looked at his neck instead of into his eyes. She knew there was a possibility of waterworks if she did. She pressed the pillow into his hands. "Thank you for the sleepover. I should go, now."

She tried to make her way back into the living room as fast as possible. She sat down on the couch and tried to force her feet into her booties, the gold decorative links jingled with the struggle. From her peripherals she saw Troy coming out of the bedroom. _Move faster, Sharpay._ She stood up, grabbing her purse, then her jacket. God dammit, she'd left her phone in the bedroom...

There was no going back.

"Sharpay, listen to me."

His voice came from right behind her. She reached for the doorknob, barely opening it more than half an inch "I'll see you at school, Troy."

He held onto her opposite hand, pressing the door shut with his other. "I'm not letting you leave until you stop for three seconds and listen to what I have to say."

God, Troy was hot when he was asserting dominance... _No. Stop it, Sharpa_y. _Now is not the time._

She let her hand fall as Troy tugged her towards the couch. She still refused to look at him, but she felt a new bout of tears threatening to pour out if something upset her. She couldn't even bring herself to look out the window. At the wide view of Central Park across the street. She didn't want to be happy right now. She wanted to mope. Her brown eyes focused on Troy's knee while he sat her down on one of the cushions. He bent down in front of her in an attempt to make eye contact but she dodged his piercing blues. "Tell me why you're upset."

Was he joking? She didn't look up, didn't respond. He knew the answer. She didn't have to go and say it out loud. Troy didn't like that plan very much. "Sharpay, I can't fix it if you don't explain to me what the problem is."

"You know." She mumbled.

"Well yeah, I know, but... Why?"

"Just..." Sharpay wasn't sure where she was going with this. She was just going to let her mouth say what it wanted to say so that Troy could back off and she could go home and curl into a ball on the couch to watch black and white romance tragedies and feel sorry for herself. She'd rather just lie in Troy's arms for the rest of the day, but you can't pick and choose. "Tiara."

"What about her?"

"She's this… this omnipresent force everyone can't seem to stop talking about. Thinking about. Probably you included."

"Talking and thinking about her isn't going to make her come back."

Sharpay blinked. Did he just admit to thinking about Tiara? _Great. Way to reassure my suspicions, Troy._ "And if she did?" Crap, her voice cracked at that last syllable. She didn't want Troy to feel sorry for her. She didn't want to talk about Tiara Gold either, but at the same time she had so many questions running unanswered through her brain. She wasn't sure if she wanted curiosity to win this time.

"If Tiara came back?" Troy repeated. Sharpay winced; it almost hurt to hear him say his long lost love's name. "She's not."

"And you know that for sure? One hundred and ten percent positive?" He paused. It was all the answer she needed. "You'd go back to her." She squeaked, trying unsuccessfully to stand up. Troy put his hands on her thighs, sitting her back down. She felt a painful drop of salt water streak down her cheek and brushed it away with her finger. She looked up momentarily, seeing something shift in Troy's eyes. "You can say it, I don't care."

On second thought?

"I don't know what would happen."

"You love her."

"Loved."

"You can't get over someone you love that much that fast."

"_Loved_." He insisted again. "And you were in love with Jimmie first time I met you. Are you saying you still love him?"

"I never actually dated him. He never told me he loved me. We kissed all but twice... I can shut off the feelings because they were never reciprocated. You and Tiara on the other hand fell in love at first sight and started dating immediately and kissed all the time- I'm guessing- and were this perfect couple and everyone thought so and you were in love for two years and you-"

"Air, Sharpay."

Right. That might help.

She took a deep breath as another unwanted tear fell from her lids. And another. And two more. "You don't just get over that. It's impossible."

"See, that's what I thought, too... And then I met you." That was way too genuine and romantic to have to been spoken in her direction. She must be in the wrong place. He must be talking to someone else. She was dreaming. It was the only explanation. "You're the first person to come along and actually make me forget about all of that. The first person to make me hold a smile for more than thirty seconds since she left. It's like you implanted a piece of yourself into my brain. I can't even so much as see the word 'vanilla' without a picture of you popping into my head. I like you... _way_ more... than a person should after two weeks."

"Please look at me? I sort of just set myself up for rejection, here." There was something about Troy sounding so desperate that just pulled at her heartstrings. She lifted her chin slightly and caught his eyes. It was like looking at a puppy in the window of an adoption center. He blinked and it sent a flutter down to her stomach. She blinked and two tears came rolling out. Why did she have to be so sensitive? "I shouldn't have said anything," he stated simply.

_No!_ She wanted to shout. She'd had dreams of Troy saying something like that to her. Actually hearing it out loud put her on cloud eight- not quite cloud nine, that'd be saved for when and if he ever professed the L word to her. Her brain was wiped clear, now filled with the echoes of Troy's words. No way was she going to be able to sleep tonight. Sharpay couldn't help herself. The corner of her lip turned upwards and she shook her head. "How do you do that?"

His face relaxed and his eyes softened into a mixture of confusion and relief. "Do what?"

"Clear my brain."

He smirked and lifted his hand to wipe the water from cheek. "It's a gift."

She reached for his hand, slipping her fingers in between his. She stared down at them, using her free hand to run her fingers over his knuckles. For a guy, he had really soft hands. "I like you, too."

"I'd hope so."

She bit the inside of her cheek. "Kind of a lot."

He was silent for the second time this morning. Why had she said that? It was too much. Too much too soon. She needed to take lessons on how not to be so pushy. Carefully, slowly, she looked up at him. He was... smiling? Yeah, like a boy who just got his first bowl of chocolate ice cream. Did he think she was being funny? Not cool, Mr. Alpha Male. "What?"

His grin widened noticeably just before he leaned forward to catch her mouth up in a kiss. She squeezed his hand. She really liked when they did this. Could they enter a contest or something?

The French Kiss Olympics?

She blinked her eyes open hazily after he pulled away. Kissing Troy Bolton really put you on another planet. "What was that for?"

He shrugged a shoulder. "I like kissing you." Sharpay smiled. God they were _so_ meant to be together. "And because I'm trying to distract you from leaving so that you can stay and have breakfast with me."

"Mission accomplished." Troy smiled back and stood up, Sharpay kept a firm grip on his hand. She wasn't finished with him yet. "Last chance, Troy. If you want to pull out now and date someone higher on the social ladder, I'll understand."

"Like I said yesterday, Sharpay." He lifted their hands and kissed her fingers. His blue eyes just kept on shining. The shades of turquoise and grey tormented her. "You're it. In more ways than one."

An image of Gabriella's jealous face flashed through her mind.

She'd never looked forward to school so much in her life.

* * *

1. Is Justin Beiber not the perfect song? Like, really, the lyrics?

_'When I met you girl, my heart went knock knock. Now them butterflies in my stomach won't stop stop. And even though it's a struggle, love is all we got. So we gon' keep keep climbing to the mountaintops.'_

You know, those ever-present butterflies? Are there other songs about butterflies? Hm...

2. Made a twitter and a photobucket. Yay, writer's block distractions.

3. Review? (:


	23. Strike 7692

"If I didn't want to risk getting blood on my coat I'd kill her right now."

"You're so dramatic."

"You think I'm kidding." Gabriella folded her arms as she looked across the quad. Sharpay was standing next to Troy and they kept touching each other. Nudging and cuddling and kissing and… just e_wh._ Have they no shame? Even when a group of Pryce boys was walking by Troy burrowed his face into her hair, sliding his arm around her waist. He was saying something that was making her giggle. Not that Gabriella could actually hear the laugh. The sight of their happiness just felt like a thousand hissing cats were scratching at her eardrums. Even from the distance, she could tell that Troy had gotten a hair cut. It probably made it ten times easier to see his beautiful eyes. Not that she ever got the chance to look at them. They were always pointed in Blondie's direction. It was Sunday afternoon and students were almost done filing out of their parent's cars, ready for classes to resume tomorrow. She narrowed her eyes and leaned her head towards Kelsi. "Did you hear anything about what happened over break? I swear to God, I go to Virginia for a few days and I lose all touch with my life up here."

"I heard a lot." Kelsi said vaguely, eyes honed in on her phone. "About whom might you be inquiring?"

Gabriella wanted to smack the smirk off of Kelsi's face. She needed to stop trying to out-power her. She was the Queen Bee of the junior class. She was chosen- not her. Five days in the South did not change that. "Just tell me."

She rolled her green eyes, scrolling through her inbox. "Well, Patrick said-"

"Patrick?"

"Yes. Patrick."

"Patrick who? Boyd?"

"Yes. He-"

"How in God's name did they-?"

"Gabriella, do you want me to tell you or not?"

She closed her dark eyes and leaned her back against the cement railing of the stone staircase, pulling her coat a little tighter around her. "Fine. Continue."

"Apparently there was this dinner involving Sharpay, Troy, the Clarks, and a bunch of people from Prospect. Anyway, Patrick said they went back to Troy's place afterwards."

This was the juicy gossip? There were apartment parties all the time. Half the time they were hardly worth talking about. She opened her eyes, bored. "And?"

Kelsi looked up from her phone and raised a freshly tweezed eyebrow. She'd spent the break on a glorious, warm, island somewhere near Turks and Caicos doing a swim shoot for Roberto Cavalli. She had a subtle golden glow covering her normally fair skin. Gabriella would never admit she was jealous- not of the golden glow, of the vacation. Her family insisted that they spend holidays in Virginia. While everyone else took their first class flights and private jets to their neighboring villas on St. Barths for holiday vacation she was stuck wearing wool. She would give anything to get away for a week. Her family could be so suffocating. At least she knew that Sharpay wouldn't be joining them on the island, either. Like she'd ever be able to get that sort of cash. Her mother was just a measly architect. Or something along those lines, anyway. Unless Martha invited her down… Or Lily… or T_roy. _Gabriella didn't even want to think about it.

One crisis at a time.

"As in... just Troy and Sharpay?"

She dug her Miu Miu heel against the pavement beneath her. Was it her, or was there a significant lack of oxygen in the air? "They didn't." She replied shortly, willing it to be true.

"I don't know." Kelsi responded. She nodded her chin in the direction of two approaching figures. Brooke's blonde curls were blowing wild as a gust of wind blew through the air, unlike Lily, whose black hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She looked like fucking Angelina Jolie. It was unfair to everyone else on the planet for her to be this pretty. "I bet Lily does, though."

"I bet I do, too." Lily grinned, her unbuttoned wool coat blowing open with a second gust of wind. She didn't even shiver. Did everyone but Gabriella have to look a super model? It just wasn't fair. "Lets give it a try."

"Did Bolton bed the new girl?" Kelsi asked calmly, slipping her phone into her pocket.

"Awh." Brooke cooed. Gabriella's eyes went wide. Did that mean it was true?

"What did I say about that nickname, Nielsen?"

"You use it." She countered.

"I'm President." Lily said firmly, her icy blue eyes turning on Gabriella. "I can do whatever I want."

"You're the boss, we get it." Gabriella retorted impatiently. She'd probably play for the snarkiness later, but needed an answer. And she needed it now. Before she had a pulmonary embolism. "Could you just answer her question?"

Lily stared in silence for a solid moment before looking over her shoulder. Outside of Stuart, on the front steps for the whole world to see, Troy and Sharpay sat huddled next to each other. They were fondling each other's hands. Troy kissed her knuckles. Gabriella wanted to vomit. That should be her. Not that she'd ever sit on the ground in this outfit. Marc Jacobs was classier than that. Lily smirked at her obvious discomfort. _Bitch, bitch, bitch. _"That's between them. Keep up the attitude and I'll move your stuff back into 203."

A wave of hope crashed over Gabriella. "I'm back in 305?"

"No. You lost that privilege when you drugged Sharpay."

"I k_new _it." Kelsi whispered out loud, a light dawning.

Gabriella stood strong. Lily might know everything, but she could not know about this. She was just bluffing. If she knew, that meant the secret society would know. And that meant that she'd never get in. And that was not an option. "I t_old you _it wasn't me."

"Whatever you say, Montez."

"Why would I lie? What's my motive?"

Survey says...

"You know them." She yawned, taking a step towards the closed door where Brooke was now standing, searching for her ID card. The door was closed, locking the warmth inside. "I'm not discussing this here."

"Nothing to discuss." Gabriella corrected, looking back over towards Stuart. What made Sharpay so special? Was it the blonde hair? Was it the skinny legs? Was it the fact that she was always wearing a stupid pair of boots? How the hell could she even afford to buy Sigerson Morrison?

"You're in 204, by the way." Lily added. "I figure a campus view might prompt you to start acting something next to normal."

"I'll play nice." She responded, knowing full well that there was no way that was going to happen.

No way in hell.

/

Sharpay kicked her duffel bag under her bed with the rest of her empty luggage. No way was this bed going to feel comfortable after the one back in New York. Or after Troy's. Could they have sleepovers? Would Lily care? It'd be slightly uncomfortable on the twin bed, but she wouldn't mind if he didn't.

She shrugged her grey Abercrombie sweater from her shoulders and placed it on the foot of her bed. She caught a glimpse of her cranberry American Apparel dress in the mirror while she walked towards the wide window overlooking the campus. It was short sleeved but the dorm was, thankfully, nice and toasty. She didn't have to give up her old wardrobe just because she was... w_ealthy._.. did she? She didn't feel any different. She leaned against the frame and watched the groups of students that were walking back to their dorms in the dark after the Welcome-Back turkey-and-mashed-potatoes dinner. The actual dinner had ended about an hour ago, but there was still some festive dessert laying around. They'd even had fresh baked pumpkin pie, which Sharpay had discovered Troy was allergic to. That was going to be a problem. It was her favorite type of pie. Maybe they could devote an entire day in the city, searching bakeries for a new favorite pie. It could be their pie. Just like they had their own café.

Well, it wasn't t_echnically _theirs. It's not like they owned it. But if she were ever strolling through the Upper East Side and happened to pass the Yorkville Creperie, she would definitely think of him. They had had breakfast there on Saturday after Troy decided room service just wouldn't cut it. He'd gotten a crepe… She'd gotten a crepe… They'd both gotten crepes… It was the best breakfast she'd ever eaten. And she hadn't had any clothes but the ones she'd worn to Serafina's, so he'd given her some. Ah, Troy clothes. She figured it was okay to wear the same jeans, but he'd given her another sweatshirt to use. She was going to purposely start forgetting her own clothes so that she could borrow his sweatshirts and start a collection. This one was green and, surprisingly, from Abercrombie. Not to mention it was sitting on her desk right now. She wanted to go put it on. She wanted to call him. She wanted to tell him to come over. Martha hadn't come back to school yet and she was feeling kind of lonely. It'd been, what, a full fifteen minutes since she'd last seen him? She was becoming boy dependent. Deciding he wouldn't mind, she reached for the iPhone sitting on her bedside table.

"Hope you're enjoying the view." Sharpay turned around slowly in her new boots, fresh from Barneys. Gabriella was in the frame of her open door in all her navy designer glory. "Not that you deserve it."

Sharpay wanted to get Gabriella's phone number just so that she could set her ring tone as Cruella DeVil. "Did you want something?"

She clucked her tongue and stepped into the room, towards her old bed. "Always so edgy. Can't a girl visit a friend?"

"I… I'm your friend?" Sharpay questioned skeptically, watching as Gabriella took a seat on the barren mattress and crossed her legs.

"I'm talking about the bed." Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek. Should she leave the crazy lady alone with her Serta? Gabriella looked around for a few reminiscing seconds before focusing on Sharpay. "Nice boots."

I'm sorry, the world just imploded, could you repeat that?

"Nice... boots..." Sharpay didn't know if she should laugh or say 'thank you'. Was this really Gabriella? It couldn't be. The real Gabriella hated Sharpay's clothes. She knew this because she made a point to give her a disgusted look every morning. And afternoon. And night. She was afraid she'd wake up one morning and find them being used as fuel for the fireplace in the common room.

"What, I can't compliment you?"

"No." Sharpay answered, a little too quickly. "I mean, it's just... different."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Gabriella ran a hand over her Marc by Marc Jacobs Cherry Blossom dress and stood up. "But to get Lily off my back we have to be civil."

"I'm not the one trying to kill you."

"Oh, I did n_ot _try to kill you. Let it go."

"I just don't see what I did." Sharpay wrapped her arms around herself. She was waiting for Gabriella to snap and push her out of the window. She took a nervous step away from the glass.

Gabriella raised an eyebrow. "Don't play the dumb blonde. You're not fooling anyone."

There's the Gabriella she knew and lo- Well… you know…

"I just-"

"You get into Hale after only one round of tests. You get this room. You're the President's new pet… That doesn't. Just. Happen." Gabriella said pointedly. "You're different. And I don't see why."

"And you can't stand it, can you?" Sharpay added. And after seeing the evil haze flash through Gabriella's eyes, she wished she could take it back. How did they end up a mere five steps from each other?

"You think you know everything."

"I know something when it's obvious."

"Well you don't know. A_nything._" She corrected. "About me or anyone else you've met here. Martha? Ryan? T_roy?_ Sharpay, I know things that would make you see them as completely different people."

Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek. She was lying. Troy would always be Troy. Nothing could change that... Right? "Like what?"

She smirked. "You spent the night with Troy over the weekend, correct?"

"Yes, but... We didn't... I mean..."

"Of course you didn't. Like Troy would ever go that far that fast with someone like you."

Sharpay almost laughed. Oh, how little Queen G knew of King T. "Actually, Gabri-"

"Don't try convincing me otherwise. I've known Troy a lot longer than you have."

"Apparently not." Sharpay sided. Not even a breath was taken before Gabriella's light blue fingernails were pressed into her arm.

Three words: Sharpest. Manicure. Ever.

"O_w._" She squirmed under her grip.

"Listen up, New Girl." Gabriella hissed. Sharpay looked over at the open door. It would be wonderful if someone could walk down to this end of the hallway... Now...

"You're not going to last much longer at this school with me as your enemy. So here's how it's going to work- you're going to put me back on Troy and Lily's good side. You're going to get me back in this room. And you're going to distance yourself from Troy. Slowly, so it's not suspicious."

Sharpay couldn't blink. She stared down back into Gabriella's determined chocolate eyes. "And why would I do that?"

"Because you enjoy going to school here. And unless you do as I say as I say it, you won't last another day."

Sharpay felt her fingers press almost unnoticeably harder into her flesh. "How are you planning on getting rid of me?"

After a few tormenting moments Gabriella smiled. A slow, knowing, devious smile. She released her hands from Sharpay's arm and tucked her chestnut waves behind her ear. "Don't worry about that."

Sharpay pulled her arm back and cradled it against her chest. It was extremely possible that Gabriella had been an anaconda in a past life. And what the hell was she talking about? Was she going to get her expelled? Kill her? The second was a definite possibility. Especially because that gleam in her eyes was not one of admiration.

"Do we have an understanding?" Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek again. Gabriella was not in a patient state of mind. "Do we. Have. An understanding?"

She nodded slowly, just wanting Gabriella to get out of the room. She wanted to be alone. No... she wanted to be with Troy. She was going to call him. Would he think it was weird that she was calling? After all, they'd parted ways after dinner only ten minutes ago. There it was again the pushiness. Maybe being threatened by a psycho brunette made the pushiness null and void?

Yeah, let's go with that.

"I mean it, Blondie. And since I'm so generous I'll give you three strikes." Sharpay almost scoffed. Generous? In what universe? " If I catch you two canoodling and gallivanting around campus with each other after that? You're out. And it won't be pretty. You've seen my work... remember the party? Oh, no, you wouldn't, would you? You had five days worth of a genius mix of drugs your system."

Sharpay's eyes widened. She knew it was her who had done it! She knew it! "I could have died, Gabriella!"

"Boo freaking hoo. What a loss that would have been." Gabriella rolled her eyes and turned back towards the door. Did no one else know that this girl was a psychopathic power-hungry lunatic? How was this evading Lily's ever-flowing fountain of knowledge? T_his _of all things?

While her back was turned, Sharpay walked back towards the table beside her bed. She lifted the iPhone into her hand and maneuvered to the contact list.

"I'm watching you, Blondie."

Sharpay turned to look at Gabriella, the owner of the voice that would now be haunting her subconscious, but she was already gone.

/

He was not going to look at her file. He was not that kind of guy. He would just ask her about it. And she would tell him there was nothing to worry about. That he was just being silly. This would all blow over. No need to resort to the file. The secret file. The everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-everyone-the-society-is-interested-in file. The file much more thorough than the one that Hale and Stuart had on their members. The file whose password he knew so well. The file that could answer all of his questions- in written a_nd _visual form. He wasn't going to look. He was not. Going. To look.

Well, maybe just a peak…

"No." Troy said out loud. The word bounced off the walls of the empty dorm room. Jason was off with… well… he wasn't really sure. He started disappearing about the same time every night. If Troy didn't know any better he'd think Jason was meeting up with the same girl. But that was too far fetched an assumption to make. Jason hadn't had feelings for a single girl since… since… a point in time currently unknown to him. You know what else was unknown? What Fox and Sharpay did while they were in Maui. All he had to do was type in the password. And it would all be clear. He moved his mouse over the folder icon and stared. For a good fourteen seconds. He sank back into the desk chair and closed his eyes, leaning his head back.

"I know you're standing there." Troy mumbled, eyes still closed.

"Then I also assume you know what will happen if you look at that file."

"Of course I know."

"Are you really willing to risk her trust for a sneak peak at vacations past?" James asked, leaning against the doorframe. "Don't forget, you were with Tiara at the time. Does it really matter what she did with another guy?"

Troy swirled the chair around to face him. "Are you saying they did something?"

"I'm not saying anything." He countered with an even expression.

After a few seconds of unbearable silence Troy shook his head. "It's k_illing _me."

"It would probably kill me, too." James said, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lip. Troy noticed the facial expression and narrowed his eyes a fraction of an inch. "You know, don't you."

"Of course I know. That's like assuming Lily doesn't know who Jason is sneaking around with every night."

Lily knew? Of course Lily knew. She knew everything. Maybe the girl _was_ someone from Hale. "How does she get all this information?"

"I'm leaning towards superpowers. But who knows, really." James shrugged, smiling to himself. Troy almost smiled, too. He and Lily weren't in a real relationship per say, but it was blatantly obvious that they had feelings for each other. They might not hold hands in public, but every once and a while they would get careless and touch or look at each other in a way that said they were more than friends. Troy had wondered lately if that's what he looked like when he looked at Sharpay. If his eyes gave him away.

"You're already keeping secrets from her." James pointed out. "Do you really want to add another to the list? You know if you find what you're looking for you're going to start acting different around her. Are you willing to put her through that?"

C_rap. _He was right. If he looked at Sharpay's file... If he went to the folder marked 'Maui 08'... If he searched through those photos… What's the worst that could happen? He would see the two of them snorkeling together? Hanging out at the pool? By the beach? Holding hands… Hugging… Kissing… N_o._ No, Sharpay wasn't like that. But Fox was like the male version of Tiara – irresistible. Note why he had conspicuous flings with more than one older female. If he'd wanted to, he could easily swoon Sharpay. Not that he was saying Sharpay was weak; Fox was just very v_ery _good. Think Jason times twenty minus the trampiness.. And he meant that in the nicest possible way. "If I d_on't _look I'll start acting different around her. What's the worse that I could find?"

James made a face and flashed his eyebrows. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

As the senior turned and walked out of the dorm Troy slowly turned back to his laptop and put his hand on the wireless mouse, cursor still waiting atop the folder named 'Prospects'. He clicked it. He scrolled down to 'Evans, Sharpay'. He clicked it. The folder was unfamiliar. He hadn't looked at it since last year when Fox had brought her up. There were a lot more folders in here now than there had been then. There was 'Winter Formal 08' and 'Birthday 09' and even a subfolder on 'Jimmie Zara'. He looked over the folder thumbnails until he saw it: 'Maui 08'. He moved the mouse. The cursor shifted. He was ready to click it. He was going to click it... Now...

D_amn, you's a sexy bitch... A sexy bi-_

Troy jumped, hand spazzing and clicking a folder named 'Birthday 08'. Troy saw a picture of Sharpay blowing out candles. He went to grab the hair at the back of his head, a nervous tick, but remembered a haircut back in New York had shortened his locks about two inches. He'd seen Nolan at dinner- he'd gotten a haircut, too. His hair looked so much different when it was tame. He dropped his hands on his lap, spun around in his chair and stared at Jason. "Why do you always make such a dramatic entrance? And what is with your ringtone?"

Jason lifted up both his hands, pulling the scarf of his neck with the hand not holding his Blackberry. "Chillax, Judge Judy." He looked down at the screen and smiled before silencing the ring. He tossed it onto his bed and looked at Troy at his desk. "And what about it? I love sexy bitches... is that wrong?"

Troy shook his head slowly, still thinking about the folder. "What happens if a guy calls you? James or something?"

"Are you saying James isn't a sexy bitch?" Jason smirked, shrugging off his jacket and hanging it over the back of his desk chair.

"Suck up." Troy strained to laugh. Should he look at the pictures? Were all these interruptions the universe's way of saying he shouldn't? Why was this so hard? He turned back to the computer and stared at the enlarged picture of Sharpay.

"How long have you been staring that, you creep?" Jason snickered, pulling off his long sleeve shirt. G_ood. Go take a shower. Leave me to think. _"Do you do that to every girl?"

"No." Troy countered, closing the file and locking the laptop via keystroke. He'd figure it out later. "But speaking of girls, I hear you've gone monogamous."

Jason turned, balling his shirt in his hands. "Me and monogamy go together like Paris and poverty."

"I don't know..." Troy started, watching as Jason threw the shirt into the laundry basket in the corner of the room. If he were playing basketball it would have swooshed. "Same time every night? Always a phone call when you come back? I doubt it's different girls doing that by coincidence."

"Whatever you say, Troy."

"It's not a bad thing."

"Didn't say it was."

"I won't tell Nolan."

"Wouldn't care if you did."

"Then what's the deal?"

"With what?"

"With you and your girl-"

"I do n_ot._" Jason interrupted, pointing a finger at Troy and stepping back towards the bathroom. "Have a girlfriend."

Troy smirked and his phone vibrated on the desktop. He reached back for it and stared. S_harpay._ It's like she knew he was about to look. Find out her dirty little secret. Or not so secret. Or maybe just more pictures of her birthday. Either way he wanted to know. He lifted his phone to his ear. "What's going on?"

"Hiding out in my room for fear of my life."

He grinned at the mere sound of her voice and nodded at the open bathroom door, gesturing to Jason to go in. The brunette seemed more than happy to oblige, scratching his bare chest as he went. Troy turned his attention back to the phone. "Nothing's going to happen to you."

"Who knows with Gabriella."

Troy looked back at his laptop. The pop-up prompting him for a password stared back at him. He closed it. "I won't let her touch you."

"You can't promise that. But thank you, I appreciate the comfort."

"Why not? Of course I can."

"Well, you're not exactly here to safeguard me, Troy."

"If you wanted me to come over, all you had to do was ask." Troy smirked, practically hearing her blush through the phone. She was probably biting her cheek. He wanted to see her.

"Could you?"

Obviously she wanted to see him, too. "I can do anything. Just give me five minutes."

And it took five minutes to put new clothes on, skulk across the dark campus, and get into Hale. He noticed that Sharpay was sitting on the couch in the common room as the oversized front door shut behind him. The warmth that met his skin from the dorm was refreshing. It was freezing out, even in a shirt, sweatshirt _and_ pants, and leather jacket. A jacket that was eerily similar to Sharpay's. They looked so coordinated walking to dinner. He unzipped the zipper, suddenly warm. He walked over to the couches near the flat screen television over the fireplace, which was burning bright. Martha was sitting on the giant chair; the same one Jason always draped himself across when they watched TV. Sharpay was at the end of the L-shaped couch nearest her, next to three seniors- Angela, Brooke, and Caitlin- and Taylor. They were all focused on the screen, debating Matthew McConaughy's appearance while he was making out with Kate Hudson.

Martha was the only one who noticed his entrance, smiling over at him, then at Sharpay and then back at the television. He unzipped his sweatshirt, too. He got warm very easily and it was obvious the girls liked to keep their dorm warmer than the boys. By at least three or four degrees. He leaned his elbows down against the back of the couch, arms falling over her shoulders. She jumped and craned her neck, smiling when she noticed who it was. "How did you get in?"

He moved his one arm to bring the key card into her field of vision. The master key card James had entrusted him with. He could sneak into Pryce and shave the rest of Nolan's hair if he wanted. Not that he would ever do that…

"Interesting." She noted.

"Nice duds, Bolton." Angela complimented, her fingers moving to graze the cold leather. "Who thought you'd go and spend twenty hundred on a jacket. Mister I-don't-flaunt-my-money my ass."

Sharpay's eyes widened. Troy shook his head. He _didn't_ like flaunting money and he _didn't_ spend two thousand dollars on a jacket. "Nineteen hundred, actually."

"Same difference." Brooke commented from the middle of the blue couch, flicking her wrist. She was practically drooling over the screen.

Troy rolled his eyes. "My mom bought it for me."

"Awh." Sharpay cooed, beaming up at him. He kissed her head. Her smile got wider as she stood up from the couch, wavy hair wild around her shoulders, and walked around to grab his hand. "Let's go upstairs."

Halfway up the first flight he heard Angela shout: "If you're going to have sex, make sure Lily doesn't hear!"

No, they weren't going to have sex. It was Sunday night. They had school tomorrow morning. Sharpay was in her pajamas. Lily was probably next-door. She'd probably kill them. Or maybe she'd just be weirded out, he wasn't really sure. And he was too tired from all the exhaustion of playing a million rounds of should-I-or-should-I-not-look-at-the-file to want to test it. When they got into Sharpay's room he eyed the empty bed that was once Gabriella's. _Good._ She deserved to be demoted to second floor status.

The second he'd taken off his heavy jacket, he'd felt a pair of hands tugging at his side. He turned and Sharpay slid her arms under his open sweatshirt and around his torso, squeezing as she pressed her cheek against his chest. He could practically feel worry in the air. He tightened his arms around her shoulders regardless. "What's the matter?" He asked into her hair.

"Nothing." She mumbled. He didn't believe her. "You're just really warm."

"You're just trying to get into another one of my sweatshirts, aren't you?"

She pulled back to look up at her. She looked so cute. Like a little girl in her red pajama set. "I'm aiming for one in every color."

"I don't think I own a purple sweatshirt."

"I'll buy you one for Christmas and steal it."

Troy smiled. Maybe his radar was off. Maybe there was nothing wrong and she had just wanted a hug. It _had_ been known to happen. "You look tired."

She nodded, her brown eyes giving her away. She took a step backwards, removing her arms to shift near the bed. She pat the lavender comforter covering the mattress. "So do you."

"Will we both fit on that bed?"

"We'll make it work."

/

"What time is it?" Troy mumbled as Sharpay moved to turn off the alarm ringing through her phone, which she had neglected to plug into her iHome last night. She hit the snooze volume button and rolled over onto her side to face him. Her head rested on his bicep and when he moved his free arm to rub at his eye it flexed. She wondered if he did it on purpose. She grinned either way. "You don't want to know."

Huddled atop her extra long twin mattress, there had been no need for the blankets or the comforter. Between Troy's arms, his sweatshirt, and her thermal pajamas- Victoria's Secret, thank you Nolan- she was perfectly content.

"Is it Gabriella early or is it Lily early?"

Sharpay didn't want to know how he knew the difference between the two. "Slightly in between."

Troy opened his eyes, blue eyes lazy like they had been Saturday morning. Only they couldn't go to the Creperie today. They'd eat whatever the chef had set out in the cafeteria and then go to French class. Maybe she'd have a croissant for breakfast. She was feeling festive, now. He smiled and kissed her nose. "It's unnatural for someone to look this good before the sun is up."

"You're so conceited."

He grinned and rolled onto his back. It was amazing he didn't fall on the floor in the process. Sharpay put her chin on his chest. "I wasn't referring to me. But thank you."

She blushed and leaned her face against his torso to try and hide the color. She tried to talk, but her lips were pressed against his shirt and the words came out mumbled. "You're such a liar" came out sounding like "Uhr zutcha liar".

"Am not." Sharpay nodded as she lifted her head. "Are too. God knows what my breath smells like."

"Never said your breath smelled good." He smirked. She covered her mouth with her hand. "Sharpay, I'm kidding."

"Not funny." She replied, mouth still covered. She pushed away from Troy and the mattress, and walked over to the bathroom. She froze. What if Lily hadn't shut her door? She wasn't about to go through that again. She turned and pulled Troy's sweatshirt around her. He stood up from the bed and stretched his arms behind him. "Don't worry, mine probably isn't any better. If you can deal, so can I."

Sharpay made a face. "That's so gross."

"So's your breath."

"Stop that!"

"I'm kidding." He laughed, placing his hand over her ear atop her bedhead and leaning to kiss her. Sharpay melted into him like butter on toast, forgetting all about what her breath smelt like or her mouth tasted like. All she knew was his still tasted vaguely of cinnamon toothpaste. Hopefully hers did, too. He pulled back, leaving her grasping at his sleeve. Did he know what his lips did to a person? Obviously not. "See? Do you really think I'd kiss someone if they had frog breath? Let them steal my sweatshirts?"

She grinned. "Maybe… if you liked them enough."

"I like you enough. More than enough. But that's not the point." _More than enough_. Sharpay felt as warm and toasty inside as she did out. "Now I'm going to go and sleep for forty more minutes until breakfast."

Sharpay was still smiling as he walked over to get his ridiculously expensive jacket off of Gabriella's old bed. Gabriella_. Oh crap._ What if she saw Troy leaving the dorm? That'd be one strike… and breakfast would be two… At this rate she'd be dead before fifth period. He slid his arms into the sleeves and she bit the inside of her cheek. She was getting worked up over nothing.

"Maybe next time we see each other we'll have fresher breath." Troy smirked as he neared her.

Sharpay slipped her fingers in between his. She wasn't sure if she wanted him to stay because she was afraid of Gabriella, or if she just wanted to be with Troy. Probably a little bit of both. She kissed him again, her other arm reaching around his neck as best she could with the height difference. He squeezed her hand, signaling his delighted response. She retracted her mouth from his, opening her eyes to see that his were still closed. He tugged her back towards the door as his eyes opened slowly. "Lips like those make it hard for a guy to leave, Evans."

"Sorry, _Bolton_. But I have to shower and you have to go dream about… well… not me taking a shower, I hope."

_Great._ Now _she_ was thinking about _him_ taking a shower. She was such a creep. Unless he was now thinking about her… A slow grin crept onto his face.

It was a strong possibility.

"I'll leave those dreams to Jason." Sharpay studied his poker face. His eyes never faltered. She couldn't see what he was thinking, like he could always do to her. She gave up atnd responded with, "I'd rather he not."

Troy smiled, kissing her once more before opening the door behind him while keeping his hand in hers. He stepped out into the hallway, barely three feet into the open space when Sharpay heard a voice coming from down the hall.

"Walk of Shame, Bolton?" Kelsi smirked, coming out of Angela's room. _That_ was weird. Kelsi was like Lily. She slept until the last possible minute.

"I'm not ashamed of anything." Troy countered, turning to leave a pointed kiss on Sharpay's lips. Her fingers slipped away from his as he walked down the hall. She bit her cheek as Kelsi stared him down. Sharpay saw a flash of chestnut curls and watched as Gabriella sauntered herself up the stairs. Her dark eyes went from Troy to Kelsi to Troy again. She grabbed him by the arm as they brushed shoulders. "We have rules here, Bolton."

Troy turned and gently pried her fingers from his skin. "Does it look like rules apply to me?"

"Have you always been so full of yourself?"

"You bring out the worst in me."

"_She's_ corrupting you."

"Do not start that again." Troy ordered. "You're being ridiculous."

"Why?" Gabriella folded her arms. "Because all your manners seem to have flown out the window and off to Guam since Blondie's arrival? Is it such a far fetched assumption to think that she's the cause behind your behavioral adjustment?"

Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek. _Uh, hello? I'm right here. _Troy shook his head. "Just because I haven't been extra nice to _you_ doesn't mean my manners are gone. I like Sharpay. You tried to kill her. You probably have another plan in action right now, so, can you really blame me?"

Nobody noticed the way Gabriella tensed up at his statement. Sharpay looked back and forth between the two of them. Locked in an epic power stare down. Who would blink first? Who would back down first? She didn't feel like waiting around to see. "Troy." She said, just loud enough to reach down the hall. She hadn't realized she'd actually made her way to the middle of the hallway, closer to Kelsi, a bit past Lily's door. It took a few seconds, but he finally looked over at her. "Don't fight with her... Please. She's not worth it."

Gabriella huffed. "Who do you think you are?"

"Gabriella, I-"

"Do you remember our little talk?"

Oh. She remembered.

Sharpay rubbed her arm self-consciously over Troy's sweatshirt. There were probably still nail marks there. Troy's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What about it?"

"I wasn't joking."

"What talk?" Troy asked in Gabriella's direction.

"I know you weren't."

"What talk, Sharpay?" He asked again, clearly not enjoying being out of the loop.

"Don't worry about it, Troy." Sharpay mumbled. She just wanted to go to breakfast and rub she and Troy's almost-kind of relationship in her face.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," She nodded. "I can handle it."

"We'll see." Gabriella couldn't help but add.

Troy didn't appreciate it. "Gabriella, I swear-"

"We'll see you at breakfast." Sharpay interrupted.

Troy gave Gabriella the once over before looking at Kelsi, who now stood silent in her own doorframe, and then Sharpay. His blue eyes didn't seem to want to give up. Nonetheless, he took a self-calming breath and started down the stairs. Kelsi made the whipping noise, accompanied by the flick of her wrist. Gabriella snickered.

"You'll regret that when I tell Ryan who you hooked up with at The G last year." Troy shouted up the stairwell.

Kelsi's face drained of color. She looked up at Gabriella. "He wouldn't."

"Who cares?" Gabriella snapped, walking into her opened bedroom door. Sharpay and Kelsi exchanged a look. A nervous look. Kelsi looked like she'd just eaten bad sushi. But Sharpay was sick for a whole other reason.

Strike one.

/

"Aren't models supposed to... not eat?"

Kelsi grabbed a carton of fat free milk and set it on her tray, ignoring Jason's skepticism. Gabriella surveyed her friend's blue plastic cafeteria tray; a pre-portioned bowls of Special K, a bottle of water, a banana, and the carton of milk. She then glanced down at her bowl of mixed fruit and fat-free organic vanilla yogurt. "This is less than 400 calories. And it's not carb encrusted like _your_ breakfast selection."

This selection was eight silver dollar pancakes, covered in butter and warm maple syrup, a large cup of orange juice, and two links of sausage. The only one who had more on their tray was Chad, with ten pancakes, five links of sausage, and a mini croissant. "Carbs are fuel."

"Carbs are calories."

"Atta model!" Jason teased as he headed back out into the crowded cafeteria towards their table.

Gabriella grabbed a water bottle and followed he and Kelsi. Her fingertips dug into the blue plastic of her tray. Of course Troy and Sharpay were already sitting together. Of course she had three pancakes on her plate. Of course she laced her fingers in between his. Of course he brought their clasped hands under the table. Of course the world hated her. Of. Fucking. Course. Did Blondie not understand the 'three strikes' concept? Well she was on strike twenty seven right now. She set her tray down gently, not making a scene, even though all he wanted to do was slam it down and dump her yogurt on Sharpay's stupid blonde head.

Thus displaying her level of maturity.

"Morning, Ry." Kelsi was saying as Gabriella tucked her Kate Spade tiered skirt underneath her and sat down. The spikey-headed blonde didn't respond. Instead he took a bite of his pancake.

"What's _your_ problem?" Kelsi asked, picking up her spoon.

"Why don't you go ask _Nolan_?" He countered, not bothering to look over at her.

Kelsi threw the plastic utensil at Troy's chest. "Asshole."

Troy didn't even blink. "Wasn't my tongue down Nolan's throat."

"Hardly the time, Troy." Gabriella scolded, popping a blueberry into her mouth. She was seriously considering throwing one at Sharpay's head. No one held Troy Bolton's hand under the table and got away with it. Strike seventy eight. She deserved a slice of honey dew melon to the face.

That would show her.

"It was The Generation. I was drunk." Kelsi whispered, head tilted forward towards Ryan, auburn hair blocking her face from view of the rest of the table.

"So was I. So was everyone else."

"Ryan, please." It was strange seeing Kelsi so vulnerable. Normally she was the strong and silent type. Not speaking but always listening. Hearing her pleading was... different. Next thing you know she'd be wearing a yellow sundress. _That _would be the day. "It's not like we had _sex_."

"Give me a few hours, alright Kelsi?" Ryan was speaking without looking at his girlfriend. His light green eyes were cast down at his plate of silver dollar pancakes. He pushed a piece around in syrup with his fork. Gabriella thought he was overreacting. Really, it was hardly something to fuss over. They'd just barely started dating when The Generation rolled around last February.

Kelsi leaned back in her chair, pushed her tray away, and pulled out her phone. She looked up at Troy through her lashes. The stare could freeze the equator.

"You asked for it." He said calmly.

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child, Bolton. I can crush you."

"With what? Your wispy model arms?"

"Oh my God, _enough_." Gabriella interjected, placing her elbows on the table in a very un-lady like manner. Her mother would send her back to etiquette lessons if she was witnessing it. "Too much fighting for one morning."

"Didn't you start the first one?" Sharpay asked, strike one hundred and fourteen. Gabriella narrowed her eyes, causing her to turn back to fiddling with the straw in her box of Apple & Eve juice. _Ugh. _Boxed juice. What was this, a public school?

"Who brought you into this conversation?" Kelsi spat, clearly on the edge and not taking any more shit from anyone today.

"Don't get pissed off at her." Troy said, trying to cut a piece of pancake with his non-compliant plastic fork.

"Will you stop defending her?" Kelsi turned to Sharpay. "Do you know how to speak for yourself?"

"I know you're upset, Kelsi, but you don't have to take it out on me." Sharpay leaned a little more towards Troy. Strike one hundred and sixty eight. Gabriella warmed up a little at the exhibition of her fear. _That's right be scared._

"Don't tell me what I am. You don't know me."

"Who wants to with that attitude."

Gabriella's jaw dropped, but she recovered quickly, hoping nobody noticed. Jason spit out some of his orange juice and started laughing, attracting the attention of surrounding tables. Taylor lifted her eyes from her copy of Pride and Prejudice and surveyed the blonde. Troy had a giant, satisfied smirk in his face, which he demurely tried to hide behind his fist. Kelsi raised an eyebrow, either surprisingly calm or masking her irritation extraordinarily well. Gabriella couldn't tell. "Bravo, New Girl, bravo."

"Kelsi." Lily's soft but commanding voice wafted over from the bordering table. She said nothing else. Kelsi rolled her eyes.

"What?" Sharpay's brown eyes radiated confusion.

"Who knew you had the ba-" Jason cut himself off. Taylor shook her head as she looked back at her book and he seemed to contemplate where his sentence was going. "Boobs...? Is that an interchangeable phrase?"

"I'm feeling a strange new respect towards you." Kelsi said slowly, ignoring the question. Gabriella shook her head in disbelief_. Et tu, Brute?_ The table went silent for the next few moments. Sharpay smiling in accomplishment. Troy smiling in pride. Martha turned to Sharpay. "So, did you hear about-"

"No, I'm sorry, one more thing." Kelsi leaned forward, disregarding her SideKick as it vibrated against the table. "Has everyone forgotten that Sharpay and Nolan kissed? In front of Troy? Everyone still likes her."

Not everyone...

"But she didn't hook up with him." Ryan spoke up for the first time since dismissing his need to speak to Kelsi.

"And I wasn't anybody's girlfriend." Sharpay corrected. Kelsi raised an eyebrow. Sharpay shrugged a shoulder. What, did Blondie think she could say whatever she wanted now and get away with it? Strike three hundred and nine.

"Yet." Martha chirped, a smile illuminated her smooth complexion. Troy grinned and leaned back in his chair, draping his right arm over the back of Sharpay's. A blush tinted her cheeks as she looked over at him, tilting her head slightly in his direction. He kissed her ear. Strike four hundred and fifty. Gabriella bit down on the inside of her lip a little too hard. The coppery taste of blood hit her tongue. _Gross._

"Does this mean you two are like..." Kelsi sat back, picking up her phone and flipping it open with the flick of her thumb. "A couple?"

Gabriella shook her head slowly. So slow it went thankfully unnoticed by the other members of her breakfast party. "I don't know." Troy shrugged, looking at Sharpay. "Are we a couple?" He asked, the absolute most sincere-yet-amused smile on his lips.

"Do you want to be a couple?" She asked silently, blush darkening, dimples forming. Strike four hundred and fifty one.

"I wouldn't mind coupling with you. Would you mind coupling with me?"

"Not even a little bit."

"Well, then..." Troy trailed off, arm tightening around his partner's shoulder. She picked up her juice and cozied into his side. Strike seven thousand six hundred and ninety two! Gabriella covered her mouth. She was going to vomit. "By all means." He finished, nodding at Kelsi by means of announcement.

"Here here!" Lily called from the other table, from her chair directly behind Troy's. How the hell did she manage to listen to the conversations at both tables? Was she bionic?

"Congrats to the happy couple." James toasted, lifting his half-empty water bottle in the air. His chair sat where Gabriella's sat- at one of the heads of the senior table. Curious students from surrounding tables turned to look, some craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the objects of attention. By lunch everyone would know of Troy and Sharpay. That they were a couple. That the junior Alpha Male of Stuart Hall was indeed dating the wannabe Hale, transfer girl, and not his residing Queen Bee as many rightfully assumed. The word would circulate. Sharpay would become one of the main topics of conversation amongst the gossiping boarding school students. They would sneak glances. They would whisper. She would be wanted. She would be envied. Gabriella swallowed the bile back down her throat and pushed herself away from the table. She would become what Gabriella feared most in the world. The one thing she swore to herself no one would take from her...

Queen Bee.


	24. The Murray Text

"Oh. My. _God_!"

Her squeal reverberated off the wall as Sharpay pressed her nose up against the cool glass. She stared in wonder at the white wonderland outside. Snow. Everywhere. On the trees. Covering the grass. Distorting her view of Stuart across campus. Down below groundskeepers worked to shovel the pathways, proving futile, as the snow kept coming down in big fat cotton balls. She'd never seen so much before, snow that is- not in person anyway. All she wanted to do was make an igloo and a snowman and have a snowball fight.

"Evans!" She heard Lily grumble-shout from her room. She bit her cheek and slipped away from the window. Maybe Martha would go outside and play with her. She stopped as she opened the bedroom door to the hallway and winced. _Play_? What was she, five? The door directly across from her own was closed. She knocked twice and waited, looking down the hallway at the three other closed doors on the floor. What time was it, anyway? With all the excitement she hadn't even bothered to look. When neither residents of the dorm room responded, she slid herself into the unlocked room. The hallway light was the only thing lighting the room due to the drawn curtains covering the wide windows that faced the forest.

"Martha!" Sharpay chirped, jumping onto the edge of Martha's bed.

"Oh, my- Too early. _Too_ early." Brooke mumbled from the other bed. Her blonde curls spread out as she pressed her face into her pillow. Sharpay looked at the clock on Martha's bedside table. 7:48 AM. _Whoops_. When she looked back at the blonde under the covers she was sitting on top of, she was turning herself onto her back. Martha pushed her sleep mask up revealing tired hazel eyes. "You do know it's Saturday, right?"

"Yes, I'm aware. But it snowed!"

"Yeah," She rubbed at the corner of her eye, "that sometimes happens in December."

"Martha." She rolled her brown eyes.

"What." She groaned, pulling the sleep mask back down. "What do you want me to do?"

"Come outside with me."

"Why me?"

"Who am I going to ask? Gabriella?"

She'd rather be pushed over thin ice and freeze to death.

Which, coincidentally, is probably what Gabriella would do if she asked.

"What about those girls you hung out with on your first day? The ones from Lit class."

Emma? She barely spoke to her anymore. Or Lea or Jackie. Would they even still like her? They only spoke on rare occasion during class. Sharpay actually felt bad thinking about it. Emma had been really nice to her on her first day, helping show her around and letting her join her and her friends for lunch. She'd have to remember to start that friendship up again. God forbid something happened with Gabriella and she was evicted from Hale. "Um... I don't think so."

"Give me an hour or two and I'll come out."

"But... But what if it melts? Or it freezes? Or-"

"Martha, just give her your key!" Brooke shouted, face still imprinted into her pillow. It sounded more like 'jussifer urkey.' "Take mine if you have to. Just make it stop."

Sharpay drummed her fingers on her knee anxiously. Obviously everyone else had seen a snowstorm before. But not her. It was like the first time she'd seen the ocean. Same water. New version. Martha pulled the table drawer open and fumbled around inside. After a moment she pulled out a key card and thrust it in her direction. Sharpay took it from her hand and examined it. "What's this?"

"Master key. I'm sure Troy will play with you."

"I'm sure he will, too." Brooke snickered, still muffled by the pillow.

Martha giggled too, pulling her sleep mask back over her eyes. Sharpay smacked her stomach lightly before slipping off the bed. How did everyone have these keys? Could she get one? Why didn't she have one already? Once in her room, she walked over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of Blank Denim jeans and a teal thermal, which went perfectly with Troy's grey sweatshirt. Which fit perfectly under her leather jacket. Which would look striking against all the white snow. She grabbed her phone, the key, and some chapstick. She was ready to brave the elements.

It wasn't until a wave of cold air that hit her as soon as she stepped outside that she discovered a hat might have been a good idea. A large gust of wind made her wavy hair dance around her face, tangling as she pulled the front door shut behind her. A fluffy snowflake landed directly on her nose and she smiled. Snow. Glorious snow. She stuck her tongue out and caught another. It tasted so... fresh. And clean. She tried to picture Gabriella being as carefree as she was right now. Letting her guard down. Acting juvenile.

No luck.

She pulled Troy's hood over her head and gripped the master key in her gloved hand, setting out to make the first imprints in the new fallen powder. She felt the moisture soak right through her Uggs. Probably not the best idea to have worn them. The snow was up to just past her ankles and still falling. She wondered how long it would continue to rain down. Taking her time, she stomped her way across the blanketed campus, not even aware of the razor beam glare being shot at her from the second story of Hale. Gabriella's look alone could have melted every ounce of snow on campus.

The steps Sharpay took up to the front door of Stuart were cautious. She looked around nervously, afraid Dean Lucas or another DA would pop out and bust her. But there was no one around except for the grounds keepers, bundled up to their noses and shoveling. Their eyes looked up at her, full of questions, but none of them were spoken aloud. She slipped the key in, watching as the tiny bubble above the key slot flashed green. She slid inside, leaving the weather outside while being welcomed by the heat of the dorm room. She faced the door, holding the handle with her eyes closed as the wood clicked shut into locked position. She winced. Sneaking around always made her nervous. And hiding wasn't one of her strong points- note her choices when she had to take cover during initiation. She had never been picked first for manhunt.

"Excuse me, Miss. Is this where you belong?"

Her eyes shot open at the male's voice. She needed to think of an excuse. Quick. She was sleepwalking! No... She'd never been a good liar either. She always blushed or stuttered. With her eyes cast downward, she turned her head to the side to avoid direct eye contact. She saw the feet of the warden in front of her. Black and gold Air Forces. Why was the dorm advisor wearing Nikes? Were old people allowed to do that? "I... I, uh..."

"Didn't know they gave you a key already."

"It's not-" _Wait... what_? She looked up and saw the owner of the voice. But it wasn't the elder dorm advisor she'd been expecting. The bemused blue eyes of Vince Gati looked down at her. Though the two of them didn't actually speak to one another much, she knew he was James' roommate. She also knew he was beautiful, in a rugged-but-soft Jake Gyllenhaal kind of way. But that was stating the obvious. Everyone on campus with eyes knew that. It was like saying Troy looked like a hotter younger version of Zac Efron.

"It's Martha's."

"Ah." He nodded, running a hand over his cropped brown hair. It was darker than Troy's. Troy. He was probably upstairs right now. Sleeping. Dreaming. Maybe even dreaming of her? She didn't want to push it. Just because her dream last night consisted of her and Troy in Hawaii… swimming… and he was shirtless… and tan… _Snap out of it_. "Isn't it a little early to be breaking dorm rules?"

"Isn't it a little early to be awake before 8 AM? On a Saturday?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

The two stared at each other for a few moments, waiting to see who would give in first. Sharpay knew it would be her. He was probably too good at getting what he wanted. Too far up on the food chain and used to hearing what he wanted to hear. Despite attention she'd received in the last week- due mostly in part to having a certain someone as her significant other- she was still the new girl. The new girl who was kind of boarding in the classy elite dorm building on the edge of campus.

"Troy." She caved, unzipping her jacket. The key card slid smoothly into the pocket. "You?"

"Fitness Center."

_Ah_, that explained the Nikes. "This early?"

"Well, James wakes up at the crack of dawn like a drill sergeant. It's not like I have to set an alarm and drag myself out."

"It's weird. Lily's the opposite."

"So's Jason. I strongly advice not waking him up. Unless you want a ten minute lecture on the importance of him getting his beauty sleep."

" I wouldn't dare disturb his royal highness."

Vince smirked, zipping up his North Face. He pat her on the shoulder twice before slipping out the front door, leaving Sharpay alone once more. She pulled off her wet Uggs and dropped them below the coat hooks where her jacket mingled with new friends of wool and fleece and leather.

Two floors. Second door on the left. Her steps took her up the stairs of Stuart and followed the familiar path she'd become acquainted with. Sharpay's socked feet padded against the dark hardwood floors, similar to those in Hale. But if it had been Hale, she'd be looking at Angela's door. Troy and Jason's was closed, as expected. Should she knock? That might wake them up. But she'd be waking Troy up anyway. She stood in front of the door, staring. A hand touched her shoulder. She jumped. Could people stop sneaking up on her? Please?

"Sorry." James laughed softly. "Just go in. Knocking won't wake them."

She smiled shyly. "I don't know. One time my phone was ringing in the other room and he woke up."

"Trust me. He, Jason, and Chad were up playing Modern Warfare until about two hours ago. They'll be dead to the world until noon."

"You're exaggerating," she guessed.

"Only slightly," he grinned before reaching over and twisting the doorknob. He left it open an inch. Sharpay looked at the open space and then back into James' hazel eyes. "Go on." He finished, walking down the hall towards what she guessed was his room. It was where her room was in Hale. Once his door had shut behind him, she bit the corner of her lip and turned back to the ajar door.

"Troy?" Sharpay whispered into the blackness of the dark room. The darkness mimicked that of Martha and Brooke's. The curtains were probably closed. No answer. She pushed the door a little further open and stepped inside. Luckily she knew where Troy's bed was. Otherwise she'd have been fumbling around blindly in the room only lit by the light coming through the cracks of the curtains. "Troy," she repeated, only to hear the sound of almost-snoring from Jason's side of the room.

Her eyes adjusted slightly to her black surroundings. She could just barely make out the lump of Troy's body on top of the mattress. What a lovely lump he was. She felt around before making contact with a heap of blankets at the foot of the mattress. He must have kicked them off at some point during the few hours he'd been passed out. Didn't he get cold? She climbed on top and her hand landed directly on the warm skin of Troy's back. Nope, definitely not cold. She froze, afraid she woken him. He didn't move a muscle, but his torso rose slightly as he drew in a breath. James was right- he was practically dead.

She curled her hands underneath her and fell onto her stomach, her head facing Troy. Her hands took cover into the sleeves of Troy's fleece as she looked over his face. He looked so cute when he slept. Almost like a little boy. This was probably why she never had the heart to wake him up. His hair didn't fall across his eyes quite like it used to since he'd gotten it cut, but still grazed his forehead. His mouth was covered by his folded arms, which his face was partially buried into. More light poured into the room slowly, and she didn't know how long she'd been laying there before Troy spoke.

"Now I know you weren't here when I fell asleep."

"Not exactly." His voice was filled with sleep, making it deeper. It was a pleasure to listen to. She smiled, not that he could see. His eyes were closed. "Did I wake you up?"

"Mm. When you laid down you moved the bed." Troy affirmed. Sharpay frowned. "I'm sorry. I was trying not to."

"You could've woken me up, you know."

"You wouldn't have woken me." She challenged as he rolled onto his back, stretching his arms above his head.

"Beside the point." He yawned, and she rested her neck on his arm as it recoiled around her shoulder. His lips pressed into her hair and he let out a breath through his nose. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"It's snowing."

"Is it now?" Sharpay sighed. Could anybody be excited about this? "I'm sorry. What is so important about the snow that it must be taken care of at six in the morning?"

"It's, like, eight thirty."

"Feels like six."

"Maybe if you hadn't played video games all night..."

"Sorry for being a guy for a second."

Sharpay sat up and looked down at the brunette with hopeful eyes. "Come outside with me and I'll forgive you."

Troy opened one eye and looked at her. "Give me two hours."

Sharpay narrowed her eyes. "One."

"You're going to be the death of me."

/

"How can you not be excited about all of this?"

Troy leaned against the thick brick staircase railing, stuffing his hands into his bomber pockets. He watched as Sharpay jumped over a pile of snow and nearly fell face first into the new fallen powder. The sun was barely peaking through the clouds that rained snow, just letting enough light out to brighten the day to a soft grey. Her eyes closed as she tilted her head up towards the sky. He stood and observed her. It was the cutest thing he'd ever seen. It made him happy just to watch her be- the sheer joy she found in such simplicity made him smile. After a few seconds in her own world, she looked back at him, cheeks rosy and eye bright. "It's beautiful."

"It's that time of year." Troy suggested, walking towards her, snow penetrating his Parra Chukka Vans. He'd never been a boot person. He thought construction boots were messy, and snow boots were too bulky. He'd sacrifice having cold feet for not wearing ridiculous footwear.

"I wouldn't know." Sharpay clarified, drawing in the snow with the toe of her boot.

"You have _seen_ snow before, right?"

"Of course I have. It's just been through a television screen."

He raised an eyebrow, gaining a better understanding of why Sharpay was so enthused. He actually felt kind of bad for making her wait to go outside. He also felt kind of happy that he was getting to be here while she experienced it. He looked down and saw she'd drawn a giant heart in the snow. _Cute._ "See ocean, check. See snow, check. Anything on the list of Things To Experience While Not in Albuquerque?"

"Well, I had 'kiss a hot guy' on the list… but I guess I'll just have to keep searching for that one."

"You're getting too sarcastic for your own good."

"Nah." She grinned, walking up to him. "You're just way too aware of how hot you are."

Silently disagreeing as her lips crept up to his, he tucked some hair behind her ear, hand resting at the base of her neck. The let his thumb absentmindedly brush against her jaw while her fingers pressed soft against the leather of his jacket. Interrupting the moment was something smashing against his cheek. He pulled back as the snowball fell apart and trickled to the ground. He turned and saw Jason with his hands raised in touchdown stance; Ryan, Kelsi and Gabriella were at his side. Gabriella was smirking. He rolled his eyes and noticed Sharpay was laughing. He turned to her. "You think that's funny?"

"Note the laughter."

"You're going to regret it in about four seconds." Troy smirked, bending down to grab a handful of snow. A chill ran up his back as his hands molded it into a compacted ball. Sharpay took a step back. "You're too nice to throw that at me…"

"That's what you think."

"Troy." She said sternly, but the smile on her face gave her away. He took a step closer and she bent down to grab her own handful of snow, trying to speedily form a snowball. She held it up in defense position, threatening him. They were only four steps away from each other. If she were going to throw it, she probably wouldn't miss. "Put it down."

"I've played baseball since I was five."

"Softball since I was six."

Three steps away. "I've got a year on you."

"I've got…" She stuttered, biting the corner of her lip. He raised an eyebrow, lifting his hand an inch. Two steps away. "Cuteness!" She finished speedily, reaching up and pressing the snow against the ear. Some of it went into his ear; some fell down into his jacket. Before she got the chance to turn around, his arm caught her by the waist and his other crushed the snowball on top of her head. She let out a squeal, and there was a smile on her lips as he pressed his against them. He caught a giant whiff of vanilla.

"Being pelted with a snowball wasn't the signal to start making out again." Jason called from the pathway, playing with a zipper on his pea coat. "It means come here."

Troy laughed as Sharpay pulled away and rolled her eyes. Her cold fingers slipped in between his, and he tugged her back towards Stuart as she shook flakes of snow from her now damp hair. Gabriella had her arms folded and Ryan was looking at something on Kelsi's phone.

"Yes, princess?" Troy said by way of greeting. He wasn't sure which member of the group he'd meant to direct it towards. It worked for either one of them. Except maybe Ryan. He was the most normal of the four.

"Public display of affection is frowned upon, Troy." Gabriella scolded calmly.

"So jealousy says."

"So _society_ says. When it comes to you, I'm over it."

In what universe?

Sharpay stifled a laugh and Gabriella shot her a look before raising her eyebrow. "What? Don't believe me?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Albuquerque, one. Virginia, zero."

"Shut up, D.C." Gabriella snapped, mocking Jason by city of origin. You'd never guess that his mother was a Congresswoman, would you? She turned back to Troy. "Trust me. It may have taken me witnessing a few gross minutes of PDA to realize it, but for whatever reason I see you like Barbie. I accepted it. I moved on."

Troy studied Gabriella's relaxed face. She didn't sound like she was lying. And she had always been a stickler for proper decorum. Maybe she _had_ finally gotten the idea that they were never going to work out and were better off just being how they were? Friends? Only time would tell. But for now he'd give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Whatever." Kelsi said, breaking the silence. "Can we just go inside before I freeze?"

"Yes, please." Gabriella agreed, climbing four of the snowy stone steps. "We'll just stay here until the assembly. Please tell me the Keurig isn't still broken."

"What assembly?" Sharpay questioned.

"Probably about Secret Santa and the Gala. It's boring. We could skip it." Jason suggested.

"Love your school spirit." Ryan snickered.

"Well, it's what the Dean gets for scheduling an assembly on a Saturday."

"What was for breakfast?" Troy asked, off topic, an idea coming to his mind.

"Waffles." Ryan answered. "I think we got gipped on a count of the snow storm. We would have been better off going to Amelia's."

Amelia's. The diner down in town in which Ryan was referring was exactly where Troy had thought of going with Sharpay for brunch. They had the best French toast and homemade syrup in Connecticut. He was almost sure of it. He nudged Sharpay with the same arm he was holding her hand with. "Want to go out for breakfast? I'll get us passes?"

Sharpay smiled and nodded. "As long as I can get changed first. Someone got snow in my hair and now I'm freezing."

/

"This year marks the fortieth anniversary of Eastwood's White-Gold Gala. As most of you know, the Gala is a time honored tradition here at the school, and all students are asked to attend…"

Gabriella let out a slow, bored breath. This was her third time hearing the Gala speech, and it never got any more interesting to listen to. As much fun as she thought the idea of the Gala was and getting to dress up for it, she didn't need to be sitting in the Chapel with the entire school being briefed about it. On a _Saturday_. Couldn't Dean Lucas send an e-mail or something? 'Girls wear white or gold and boys wear a gold tie. Get a date, get a corsage and meet in the Old Library on blah at blah o'clock' It would have been that easy. But what else did she have to do today, really?

Besides sit in the corner and glare at Troy and Sharpay being… _Troy and Sharpay_.

"I thought the school colors were blue and gold?" Gabriella heard Sharpay whisper to Martha.

"They made it so that girls could wear white gowns. I guess blue and gold wasn't Christmas-y enough for them." She answered back.

The thought of Troy escorting Sharpay to the Gala made her sick. It was supposed to be her year with Troy. Not Blondie's. She'd gone freshman year with Ryan. She'd gone last year with Jason. This year was supposed to Troy. Well, technically Tiara would have had dibs on Troy. But in October, when it became obvious she was a no-show this year, she'd decided this year she was going to be attending the Gala with Troy. The Gala in December, the G in February, and any other party that happened to come along in the following months. But that wasn't going to happen if Sharpay was going to become a permanent fixture, was it? She tuned her ears back into the Dean's announcement.

"-on Friday the 18th. Now, for the second matter of business: Secret Santa. By Monday, everyone will have received an envelope with the name of his or her recipient. Be sure to check your mailboxes. And remember, you are not allowed to trade names with anyone, and I know this is hard, but try to keep it a secret from each other. All gifts are to be appropriate and placed in the mailroom for pick up before the day of the Gala. At the Gala, you are all free to share you bought the gift for. Please…"

The rest of the assembly went in a blur. Next thing she knew she was in the mailroom with a group of over excited freshman hoping they get to be Secret Santa for their new best friends. Little did they know that the student council matched people randomly. Only if you were lucky enough to have friends on the SC, were you sure to be put with someone good. Lucky for Gabriella, Taylor and Brooke were on the SC. But she was in Hale, so she'd be guaranteed someone from Stuart anyway. She reached for the third row of mailboxes, nearly slicing the face a short blonde reminiscent of Sharpay with her manicure. She pulled out a miniature green envelope and left the Michael Kors catalog. She pulled the slip of paper out of the envelope and read the name, grunting and slamming the mailbox door shut.

Alexander Clark.

/

"Did I not tell you how good the French toast was?"

"But it was ten times more delicious than you explained. And the syrup?" Sharpay let her head fall back as she smiled. She felt picturesque, walking down the sidewalk with Troy, one hand holding Troy's and another holding a cup of white hot chocolate from the coffee shop next door to Amelia's. "Can we go get some more?"

"Maybe next weekend," Troy laughed, his breath fogging in the air.

"Next weekend I'm going dress shopping with Martha. I don't know where, though. I would have picked something out in New York had I known about this."

"There are stores around here. Just not mainstream. No Bergdorfs. No Bendels."

"Bendels was so cute. I think it's my favorite store."

"Well, aren't you just the Manhattan shopaholic?" He teased.

"Am not! You're the one with a trust fund."

"I wouldn't have told you that if I knew you were going to use it against me."

"What, you didn't know? I'm only with you for your money and your- _awh_!"

"Thanks. I think I'm pretty cute, too."

"Not you." Sharpay giggled, pulling her hand away and smacking his chest. She stopped walking and put her free hand against the glass of the store window that caught her attention. It was a pet store. And in the display by the window were three dogs. One of them was brown, and it had its paws against the glass, looking expectantly up at Sharpay. It was the cutest dog she'd ever seen. She was ready to buy it right now and stash it in her dorm. It could sleep in Gabriella's bed.

It was made for a bitch, anyway. So what if it was the dog version?

"I think it likes you."

She touched her fingers to the glass, grinning as the dog let out a bark that was muffled by the clear wall between them. "Is there a rule about animals on campus?"

"I'm going to say yes, probably."

"But… we're special, right?" She looked over at Troy and then back at the puppy. "I'd be allowed just one miniature poodle type dog… Just one…"

He laughed. "Maybe your Secret Santa will get it for you."

This caught Sharpay's attention and she turned all her attention to Troy. Well… 98% of it. The curly fur and lively eyes of that puppy were hard to stop thinking about. "You know who my Santa is, don't you?"

"Maybe."

"Can you tell me?"

"According to Dean Lucas, no, I cannot."

"It's you, isn't it?"

"Or is it Jason?"

"It's Jason?"

"Is it?"

"Stop." Sharpay held up a hand and Troy smirked. "You're better at this game than I am. I just get confused."

"What if I just tell you I'll put in a good word with Santa as to what you might like?"

"Would that be cheating?"

"Cheating would be you getting something like a cashmere scarf that you'll wear once and then lose…. Accidentally of course." Sharpay raised an eyebrow. He elaborated, "That girl Emma from English? She was my Santa last year. Got me a cashmere scarf."

"It was thoughtful." She shook her head and took a sip of hot chocolate. "I can't believe you lost it."

"I said accidentally, didn't I?"

"Said, yes. Told the truth, debatable." He took a drink of his French Roast coffee and Sharpay looked back at the pet store window. She stared for a few seconds and then grinned, mostly to herself. At the memory that had come into her mind. "He looks like a puppy I saw at the hotel in Maui." Troy made a face; if Sharpay had blinked she would have missed it. She dropped her hand from the glass and her brows went together in confusion as she looked up at him. "What?"

He shook his head, not making eye contact. "Nothing."

"Troy." She said, waiting for him to look over at her. He did… eventually. "Did I say something?"

"Did you- no. No." He smiled and looked back at the dog, which now had a similar dog at its side, only this one was black. "Just miss my dogs."

Nothing to do with the mention of Maui.

The topic that would annoyingly be on Troy's mind, now, for the rest of the day.

/

Yep. Still thinking about Maui. Still thinking about Fox and Maui. Still thinking about what Sharpay and Fox could have done in Maui.

They'd had the Stuart common room to themselves for the past two hours, which they'd spent flipping through channels on the TV. The last thing Troy remembered before zoning out was the end scene of Elf where Buddy and the blonde girl from Gimbel's have a baby. For whatever reason it brought Troy's mind to a place where he was thinking about the possibility of Sharpay and Fox sleeping together and having a love child. But neither of them wanted to keep it. So they went into town and found this woman had always wanted a child, but couldn't have one, and she named the baby Johnny Tsunami.

He had a very active imagination.

Once that rant was over, he noticed Sharpay reaching forward towards the coffee table to set the remote control down. She'd rolled the sleeves up on her grey sweater since the last time he'd noticed. He blinked a few times, forcing himself back to the real world. Back to present day. Johnny Tsunami. Pft. What did he think he was in, a Disney Channel Original Movie? Troy looked over at the TV. He knew this movie. Tiara loved this movie. He'd been stuck watching it with her on countless occasions because she claimed that Nicholas Sparks was a genius. "The Notebook? We're watching The Notebook?"

"You're not paying attention anyway. Can you think of anything else better to do?" Sharpay said as she brushed her finger through her hair, removing a nonexistent knot. Troy noticed her eyes drift down to his lips. She looked back up into his eyes. He smirked and inclined his head towards the television screen. Ryan Gosling had Rachel McAdams pressed up against a wall. She raised an eyebrow, reading his thoughts that mimicked hers only she was too shy to say them aloud. "It'd be very inappropriate."

He shrugged, never taking his eyes off of her. "Suit yourself."

She bit the corner of her lip as her eyes drifted again. She didn't say anything as he waited, turning back to the TV. The two lovers on screen were panting. Troy tried to decide if the situation was awkward or not. They were mature. They could watch PG 13 sex scenes and not feel bashful. They just made him think about kissing. Touching. Anything with Sharpay. He looked back at her. Was she going to kiss him or not? If she didn't, he would. She looked back and met his eyes, and their brains were obviously tuned to the same frequency. Their mouths crashed into each other's in a passionate manner. Not courteous, patient passion. Eager, hungry passion.

Good passion.

_Great _passion.

He forgot all about Maui.

Troy felt one of Sharpay's hands take of fistful of his shirt. The other held the side of his face. He had her captured between his body and the couch. It felt so much easier to be with her now. On Wednesday they'd had another sleepover, which had involved more than sleeping. There were lips and tongues and hands and Troy had gone straight to his don't-push mindset. Similarly, Sharpay had gone into I'm-being-too-pushy mode. They'd talked. They'd compromised. He could touch her as much as he wanted within reason and only had to stop if she told him to. She could touch him as much as she wanted and... well... that was pretty much it. Though he had the right to stop her during any progressing activity and make sure she was ready. That she was okay. That she wasn't just caught up in the moment. Not that he was about to go groping her in the middle of the common area.

Yet.

Troy shivered as Sharpay's fingers danced along the exposed skin between his pants and his plain blue v-neck t-shirt.

"Yo!"

_Thud._

_/_

_Crap crap crap_. Oh crap.

She'd pushed him off the couch.

Sharpay rolled onto her side and her hands flew to her mouth. "Oh my God," she gasped, looking down at Troy. "Are you okay?"

He winced. "I will be."

"I'm. So. Sorry."

"It's just Jason, by the way."

Sharpay smiled sympathetically and slid off the blue cushions and fell over Troy's body, lining herself up with his face. He barely flinched. Her hand ran through his cropped hair. "Maybe if we're quiet he won't hear us..."

Troy smirked, his hand cradling the back of her head as he lifted his to kiss her. She loved this. His lips. His hands. His caressing her back. Talking was nice. Just sitting and being was good. But this was... A whole different level of great.

"Well well _well_."

"Go away, Jason." Troy mumbled, not even bothering to pull his lips away. Sharpay smiled self-consciously. _Yes, Jason, shoo shoo. Now is not the time._ She hadn't noticed that he'd yet to leave a few delicious moments later, but Troy had. She gasped in a quiet breath when he pulled his head back, looking up at Jason. "Could you go be a voyeur somewhere else?"

Bent over, elbows perched on the back of the couch, he looked up from his phone. "Just trying to time how long before Blondie gets self conscious."

"Glad to see we've become such good friends, Jason." Sharpay mumbled into Troy's neck.

"He'll leave." He whispered back. But raised the volume when he asked. "Right?"

"You can't use the authority voice on me."

"I can and I will."

"It's fine, Troy." Sharpay interrupted. She kissed his lips once before pulling away from him and standing up. "I should go home anyway. It's almost one o'clock. Don't want to be caught breaking dorm rules, you know? Besides, with these boots and the snow it may take me thirty minutes to get to the other side of campus."

He stood up, taking her hand when she held it out to him. He ignored Jason's smirk as he kissed her knuckles and followed her over to the door where she slid her coat on. Then zipped her boots back on. The hundred inch over the knee boots that brought her level with Troy's height. "See you tomorrow?"

"Mm." He mumbled in response, leaning to kiss her for a delightful eight seconds. "Want me to walk you?"

"I'll be fine. You always have to walk back by yourself, anyway. It's too chilly for that." She kissed him again, her hand running through the side of his hair. "Thanks though."

"Anytime."

She bit the inside of her cheek, smiling. "Good night, Jason."

"G' Night, Blondie." He sing-songed back before Troy closed the large wooden front door. The burst of winter air it let in made him shiver. He second-guessed letting Sharpay walk by herself out in the cold. He walked back over the couch, propping his feet up on the coffee table. Jason assumed his usual position across the oversized armchair. "Why are you watching a chick flick?"

"Sharpay put it on."

"Whipped much?"

"Shut up much?" Troy rebutted, throwing the remote at him. "It's not like I was paying attention. Neither was she for very long."

"Whatever you say, bro." He said, eyes scanning the channel guide carefully.

Troy sunk deeper into the couch, and felt something vibrate underneath him moments later. He felt around the cushions behind him and finally pulled out an iPhone with a pink case. It was obviously Sharpay's; he'd give it back to her in the morning. No real rush to run after her now. Maybe he'd surprise her tomorrow morning like she had to him today. That'd be nice.

Just before the screen turned black, a name in the blue notification bubble on the screen caught his attention. He thought he was seeing things. Curiosity overtook him, causing him to break one of his cardinal rules of privacy. Putting Sharpay's trust on the line just to find out if what he'd seen wasn't a sick twist of his imagination. He pressed the home key and slid the phone unlocked. He hadn't been seeing things. There his name was, plain as day, like a ghost. Murray F. As in Fox. As in his nightmare. He didn't read the text itself because those seven letters were holding so much of his attention. What were the chances of there being another Murray F? Slim to none, Troy reasoned. And if he was right...

Sharpay and Fox were still talking.

And Troy wasn't sure he liked it.


	25. Breakfast with Tiffany's

"Are you sure you don't want to read this?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Positi-"

"Positive, Jason, yes."

"Relaxi taxi, Bolton." Jason snickered, his thumb swiping over Sharpay's iPhone. "Just teasing."

"Well, can you not?" Troy mumbled, staring at the iChat message open on his laptop but not really concentrating. He was always logged in even though he knew no one even used AIM anymore. The only people he ever talked to through iChat were students from other boarding schools he knew, and the occasional video chat with his parents. Luckily there was an unspoken decision to use real names as their screennames. Otherwise he'd never remember who QTgrl92 was.

He shouldn't have left Sharpay's phone out in the open when he'd fallen asleep last night. But no. He had to go and leave it on the desk for Jason to see. His curiosity was going to get him in trouble one day. Then again, so was his own, because it had taken every ounce of his willpower not to read through Sharpay and Fox's text thread last night, and if his roommate were to put the phone down even for a second, he'd probably cave and read through all the messages. He was only human.

"Dude, Fox used a smiley face." Jason looked across the room at Troy. "Is Fox allowed to send smiley faces? He used the parenthesis instead of a bracket…"

"…so?"

"So? So that's like my brother using a smiley face. People like Aiden and Fox don't use emoticons. Winks, maybe, but not smileys."

**FosterFaye**: You better b ignoring me bc u fell asleep and not because ur reading those texts.

**BoltonTroy**: I'm not. Jason is.

**FosterFaye**: That's even worse. U know he can't keep his mouth shut.

Troy looked back over at Jason. He was right. Fox wasn't the smiley face type of person. He smiled in real life, sure. But he wasn't an 'lol' kind of guy. He needed to read those texts. What could he and Sharpay possibly have to talk about that would make him use such text lingo?

**FosterFaye**: Have u seen her yet today?

**BoltonTroy**: Not until breakfast.

**FosterFaye**: The faster u give it back the less tempted you'll b.

Troy groaned and ran a hand through his hair. Why did he have to have a conscious _and_ curiosity? Couldn't he just have one? Maybe look at the texts and not feel bad? Or not be tempted at all and just give her the phone back and never think of it again.

"Shit."

His attention snapped back to Jason, the plastic chair swerving underneath him. "What?"

Jason's green eyes continued going right, left, down, right, left, and down over the screen. "Nothing."

"I hate you so much, you know that?"

"Why?" He countered, looking up. "It's not my fault you won't look at the phone."

"Because I have morals."

"I have morals. They're just slightly different than yours."

"Yeah, that's the problem."

"That's why James picked you." Jason smirked, looking back down at the phone. "Among other things."

"Are we going to go through the jealousy thing again?" Troy said, pushing the grey sleeves of his thermal up to his elbows. He folded his arms.

"I'm not jealous. I like being me."

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind being you right now either."

"Go for it." He rose from the bed, walking over and dropping the iPhone onto Troy's lap. He pushed at his shoulder, beckoning him to get up. Troy did, grudgingly, standing behind the desk chair Jason now occupied. His roommate made a flourish with his hand. "You're Jason, I'm Troy. You have no guilt reading your significant other's text messages. Enjoy."

Troy sat back on his bed, staring down at the phone. "This is ridiculous."

"Not to you, _Jason_." He corrected, turning back to Troy's white laptop, he grinned as he pulled himself towards the keyboard.

**BoltonTroy**: Wuddup Foster?

**FosterFaye**: …J?

**BoltonTroy**: I believe my name says T – R – O – Y.

Troy stared at the blank screen for a few more seconds, weighing his options. Option one: Don't read anything. Give the phone back to Sharpay at breakfast and pretend he never saw the name Murray in her inbox.

Side effects: Raging curiosity, unnecessary judgment towards Sharpay, and more raging curiosity followed by long bouts of suspicion.

Option two: Read the text message thread. Find nothing but a boring conversation with fillers like 'How've you been?' and 'How's school?'

Side effects: Relief and guilt that will eventually pass.

Option three: Read the text message thread. Find that Sharpay is secretly in love with Fox and they've been dating through cyberspace ever since they met in Maui last year and that this year during summer they had an illicit affair, produced a love child, and put it up for adoption because they were both too young and their parents wouldn't understand.

Side effects: Delusion, possible psychiatric ward enslavement, and a mental evaluation.

He didn't know if it was because he was supposed to be Jason or because he was rooting for option number two, but he pressed the square home key and unlocked Sharpay's phone. The screen lit up right into the text message with Fox. He mentally smacked himself for being invasive and then scrolled up to the very first text. It was dated back to November 28th. _That was over Thanksgiving break… Sharpay had been with me over Christmas break… They'd been talking since the day after she slept over? _His blue eyes scanned the words, confounded. It was too weird to think about. They'd come three articles of clothing from having sex and Fox had _texted her_? Maybe he knew. Maybe they had sex in Maui and now he had a mental ability to determine when she was going to have sex with someone else and made it so it couldn't happen. Maybe their love child- _No. No_, Troy reassured himself. There is no love child. _Sharpay is not that kind of girl. Fox may be that kind of guy but Sharpay had been in love with Jimmie then._

It wasn't possible… Or was it…

No. Definitely not.

**Murray**_** F **__: _And thanks for wishing me happy birthday, Blondie.

**Me **: Omg, the 26th! I must've forgotten bc of Thanksgiving! Happy birthday, Murr :)

Blondie? Murr? They had nicknames? She knew his birthday?

**Murray :F :** I'll let it slide this time.

**Me** : Gee, not like you remember mine.

**Murray F **: July 2. NBD.

**Me**: Fine. Murray, one. Sharpay, zero.

**Murray F **: Actually, Murray, two. I got u a present, remember?

**Me** : Course. Haven't taken it off yet.

**Murray F **: Lie.

**Me** : Truth!

Troy put the phone down next to him and scoured his mind for the best mental image of Sharpay he had inside of his brain. What kind of present would she never take it off? A tattoo? Did she have a tattoo of his face?

Yeah, because he wouldn't have noticed _that_ when they were half undressed.

If it wasn't a tattoo, what could it be? I couldn't be a piece of clothing, could it? No… She always wore something different. So that would leave it to be some kind of jewelry item. A wedding ring from a ceremony on the beach, perhaps? His imagination was really running rampant today, huh? But she did wear a ring every once in a while… but that couldn't be it. Because she took that off. She always had earrings in… Maybe… God, why couldn't he remember? Why had he never paid attention to details like that? He could easily remember the gold band Tiara wore on the middle finger of her left hand. It was the wedding band that had been passed down from her great grandmother. It was some sort of tradition that the Gold mother would give it to her daughter on her sixteenth birthday. How come he could remember all of that, but nothing about any of Sharpay's trinkets? He knew she had a birthmark on her right bicep but besides that nothing.

"Can't figure out the birthday thing, either, huh?"

Troy looked up at Jason, eyebrows furrowed. "Why would _you_ know what Sharpay never takes off?"

"You underestimate me, Bolton. I wasn't appointed your number two just because of these devilishly handsome good looks."

/

"Do those jeans hurt?"

"Are you making a crack at the tightness of my pants?"

"The studs, Nielsen, the studs."

"They're on the _outside_, imbecile."

Gabriella choked back a laugh, placing her grapefruit juice back on the table and smirking as Kelsi rolled her emerald eyes at Chad. Her Alice + Olivia skinny jeans had a row of studs going down either leg. They cost more than his entire wardrobe. _Poor scholarship student_. He didn't seem to mind though; he had it pretty good at this school what with being in Stuart and everything. He frowned and took his seat in between Jason and Taylor.

Taylor put a hand on Ryan's chest and pushed him back lightly in his chair, just enough to get a look at Kelsi. "Apologize."

"For pointing out a stupid question?" Kelsi asked, pulling her phone out of her purse sitting on the floor next to her.

"It was a legitimate question."

"For a-" Kelsi started, Ryan looked over at her with _are-you-really-going-to-do-this-this-early-in-the-morning _eyes and said, "Kels. Please."

She let out a huff and looked down at he phone, tossing her hair over her shoulder with one hand and flipping her SideKick open with the other. Taylor went back to eating her bowl of cereal, placing whatever book it was she was reading on the table and slipping her fingers into Chad's. _Speaking of couples…_ Gabriella thought as she popped a raspberry into her mouth. She looked to her right and saw Troy leaning back in his chair, drinking his carton of milk. Funny, this was normally his flirt-with-Sharpay-and-make-Gabriella-extremely-pissed-and-jealous time. Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise?

She crossed her fingers.

She tapped Troy's shin with the toe of her Lanvin Oxford Shoes. He looked over at her. Oh, how she missed him looking at her with those blue eyes without a snarl. Good, he trusted her again. Sharpay hadn't screwed her over. Yet. He lowered the milk and set it on the table. "What's up?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah, why?" He asked. Her eyes drifted over to Sharpay, who was talking to Martha. Maybe he was just letting her talk to her other friends? Maybe he was just tired? Maybe they'd broken up! Still looking at the side of Sharpay's face- basically her ear- Martha nodded towards Troy. Gabriella narrowed her brown eyes unnoticeably, watching as Sharpay turned with a smile on her face. She slipped her hand into Troy's right, whose elbow was resting on the table. He turned and smiled, kissing her knuckles before releasing her fingers. _Hm… What was that about? _No canoodling under the table? No whispering sweet nothings and giggling? Were her dreams coming true? Was the honeymoon phase over? But wait- what was that on Barbie's wrist?

"That's pretty." Gabriella commented, picking up her fork and turning her attention to her fruit salad, playing casual. She could feel Troy's eyes moving around. "What is?"

"Her bracelet." Kelsi looked up at this one, looking over at Sharpay's wrist as if she'd been a part of the conversation the entire time. Her ability to hold a conversation while texting was almost as impressive as Taylor's ability to hold a conversation while reading a novel. Hale girls were so multitalented. "Did you get it for her?" She lowered her voice, "Secret Santa?"

Truth be told, she had no idea who Troy was Secret Santa too. Taylor refused to tell everyone, wanting to keep some part of the tradition a surprise. But she was almost positive Troy and Sharpay had been paired up together. She'd meant to take a look at Sharpay's mailbox after chapel yesterday, but had been so annoyed that she'd gotten Alex that she'd lost her train of though and walked out with rolling eyes. Troy looked over at Sharpay's wrist, too, and something registered in his eyes. Surprise? Confusion? She couldn't tell for sure. "I've never noticed it before." He looked back her and shrugged. "Pretty, though, yes."

"Looks expensive." Kelsi noted, putting down her phone and picking up her fork. She chewed a piece of cantaloupe thoughtfully. "Real pearls, I believe. Sterling silver."

Jewelry radar. Another impressive talent. Lily had that one, too. Knowing Blondie it was probably some cheap birthday present from a town jeweler or Zales or something. It definitely wasn't Tiffany's. Gabriella touched her earlobes, where her Tiffany & Co. Victoria earrings were attached firmly. "Oh, New Girl."

Though Gabriella was amused that Sharpay still responded to the name, Troy obviously wasn't. he gave her a look and Gabriella rolled her eyes. "I like your bracelet."

Sharpay looked down at her wrist, her short sleeves shirt fell off of her shoulder in the process. The name 'Joseph' was written in script across one of the blue stripes. Who the hell was Joseph? And didn't she know it was winter out? Then again… Gabriella looked down at her own ensemble appreciatively, running a hand over the teal fabric of her Geren Ford dress. It was short sleeve, too, but at least _hers _was _cute_. Sharpay smiled. "Thanks."

"Where'd you get it?" Kelsi asked, popping another cube of orange melon.

"Oh- um." She started, fingering one of the pearls. "Maui. It was a birthday present."

Gabriella nodded and looked over at Kelsi, whose eyes were narrowed as if she knew a secret. There was a knowing grin on her glossed lips as she stared across the table at Troy. He seemed to know about whatever he was thinking. Troy raised an eyebrow and Kelsi nodded. _Excuse me_, Gabriella wanted to interrupt_, me no speak your silent language._

"Is that Tiffany's?" Kelsi enquired as she placed her fork on top of her napkin. She picked her phone up, eyes on the blonde. Sharpay nodded. "It was in the blue box… So…"

"Unless you were re-gifted." Gabriella threw in. Sharpay didn't have the class to wear Tiffany's. A Tiffany item was classic. Special. Beautiful. Sharpay was… not.

"No, I wasn't re-gifted."

"Well then…" Kelsi started. "Lucky you."

Sharpay grinned up at Troy again, but this time he only gave a brief smile back before turning back and focusing on reading the nutrition table on his milk. Gabriella's eyes almost grew wide in amazement. Was he giving her the cold shoulder? Were her dreams coming true? Sharpay's bit the corner of her bottom lip as she touched her stupid, cute Tiffany's bracelet and went back to talking to Martha.

What. The. Hell?

/

"Not that I don't _love_ waiting until the last moment, to do homework, but can we take a break?" Jason moaned, sinking back into one of the cushioned chair in the center of the second floor of the library. In the center of the ring of six armchairs was a large oval table, currently filled with a pile of Modern Euro work. Textbooks, notebooks, and worksheets galore.

"We just took a break ten minutes ago." Taylor scolded softly, looking at Jason on her left side. He rolled his eyes and covered his face with an uncompleted map of France. She continued, "I'm basically giving you the answers anyway, why are you complaining?"

"Because it's Sunday." Gabriella volunteered, her pen tapping against the armrest. She sat at her right, and seemed just as bored as Jason was. Minus the vocalization.

"That's what all of you get for waiting until the last minute to finish your maps."

"Five more minutes, Taylor, please? _Please_? Please, I beg-"

"_Fine_, I'll go search the stacks or something." Taylor clicked her pen shut and placed all of the work in her lap onto the table. She stood up and straightened out her M Missoni sweater dress before walking over to the towers of books. Troy closed his textbook with a sheet of paper holding his place and leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling. His eyes were unaccustomed to the brightness of the ceiling- he'd been staring at Sharpay's wrist for the past twenty-three minutes- and it made him wince. He looked back to the table, eyes watering. Jason tossed his books onto the table and stretched his legs out. "Don't cry, man. Only three more weeks until the end of the semester. Then we're done."

"I'm not _crying_." He corrected, rubbing the surprise tears.

"That's not why he's crying." Sharpay jumped in, pulling her legs up underneath her. Her tan skin showed through the rips in her black jeans and she closed her book as well. The bracelet fell forward on her wrist. Troy cringed. Each of the pearls was like a little fox hanging from a silver chain. He wanted to steal it and hide it somewhere so that he wouldn't have to look at it anymore.

Swiper no swiping! SWIPER NO SWIPING!

"She's right." Gabriella agreed. They all looked at the brunette expectantly as she tossed her wavy hair behind her shoulders. She sat across from Troy; legs crossed properly, now the only one with her books still open. Had she really just agreed with something Sharpay said? Everyone was silent. "He's crying because he won't get to daydream to Mr. Daniels' voice in class anymore."

"That's it." Jason snickered. "Definitely."

"It would explain why you've been zoned out the entire time." Martha said in his direction. Her blue turtleneck made her eyes look more blue than hazel. He shook his head and put on a smirk. "You caught me."

He saw Sharpay smile out of the corner of his eyes but refused to look at her. Why? _Why_ was this happening to him? He'd sworn after the Nolan thing he wouldn't get jealous anymore. But, he wasn't sure, but it felt different than it had been with Nolan. Nolan was a whole different story. Fox was his cousin. They had practically grown up together. What if Sharpay and Fox had hooked up over the summer? They'd had two vacations to make it happen. That was enough time, right? To get to know someone well enough to… you know… with them? Troy felt like he was dating his brother's ex or something. She felt claimed all of a sudden. And it made Troy uncomfortable. He'd barely looked at or touched her since last night. It was _killing _him. It was worse than actually being with her and trying to restrain. Now he had to get by with kissing her knuckles and smiling when he accidentally caught her eye.

Once Sharpay realized that Troy wasn't going to return her glance, she dropped her head. Martha, Gabriella, and Jason were still talking in the background but it all seemed far away and he couldn't bring himself to tune into the actual words. Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek and started toying with her bracelet. Had she always done that? Had he just been too busy staring at the whole picture that he'd looked over the details? He looked up slyly and scanned her face. Her lips were down turned and parted, shiny and covered in the nonsticky lip-gloss that tasted like strawberry daquiri. Her cheeks seemed less rosy and her blonde eyebrows were furrowed slightly. But her eyes. It was her eyes that killed her the most. The brown irises were glossy and blank, like she silently convincing herself not to cry. It made him angry to know he was the one who was causing all of this but he couldn't get over himself enough to make it better. It made him realize he probably wasn't the only one having a horrible day.

And it was all his fault.

/

"Sharpay?" She heard her name but Sharpay refused to move. She sat still in her desk chair, staring out the window and twisting her phone in her hands like she had been for the past two hours. It had vibrated about six times, but she hadn't made a move because she knew it wasn't the person she wanted to talk to. Martha called her name from the hallway, but it was closer this time. She felt someone touch her shoulder but ignored it. Just like Troy ignored her. At breakfast. And lunch. And in the library. And dinner.

"Uh, _hellooo_?" The blonde cooed. Sharpay could hear her skipping over. _Not now_, she wanted to tell her friend. _Let me wallow in misery by myself_. But Martha didn't get the mental note and wasn't going to give up so easily. She pulled at the revolving desk chair, causing Sharpay's feet to fall off the windowsill. Sharpay turned her head slowly up at her. "Yes?"

Her eyebrows knit in confusion. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing at all."

"Well... We're watching a movie, I just wanted... to... are you _sure_ you're okay?"

Sharpay nodded and went back to staring at the window.

"No, there's something wrong." Martha said, ignoring the lie. She sat down on the edge of the bed and crossed her acid wash denim-clad legs. "Did Troy say something?"

"No." She deadpanned. "Troy most definitely did _not_ say anything."

"Are you guys in a fight?"

Sharpay shrugged.

"Is he jealous of Nolan again?"

She hadn't spoken to Nolan since yesterday at dinner. And that was only a passing-by in the lunch line. That couldn't be it, but then again, who knew. She shrugged again.

"Did something happen at dinner?"

She shook her head. "He was ignoring me before dinner."

"He's ignoring you?" Martha frowned. Her genuine concern made Sharpay want to give her a smile. But she couldn't even bring herself to fake one. She tried it, but only a miserable grimace appeared on her lips. It was pathetic how much Troy affected her. How much she relied on his feelings and how much they meant to her. "Why?"

"Maybe he's not ignoring me."

"But you just said-"

"I don't know what I'm saying."

Her friend made a face as she went back to staring out the window. Across the campus she could see lights coming from the windows of the boy's dorm rooms across campus. Little yellow squares among a dark canvas of sky. Troy was over there somewhere. Ignoring her. Not texting her. Thinking of something that was causing him to ignore and not text her. "I must have done something."

"Like what."

"Something, I don't know. Why else would he be acting like this?"

"I don't know…" Martha answered, mulling something over quietly. She stood up and smoother a hand over Sharpay's shoulder. "I'll go find out."

/

"Troy Alexander Bolton."

The front door of Stuart slammed shut; but Troy cringed more at the use of his full name than the loud noise. His eyes stayed trained on the video game in front of him. Like they had been for the past two hours.

"Cox." Jason acknowledged as Martha wove her way in-between Troy and the television screen. He pressed the pause button, eliciting a groan from Jason, Vince, and Alex.

Troy raised an eyebrow at Martha. She unwrapped a scarf from her neck. "What'd you say to Sharpay?"

"I didn't say anything to Sharpay."

"Then why is she in a coma?" _Coma?_ _She'd been awake three hours ago._ Troy's eyes grew wide before Martha rolled her own and continued, "Well, not an actual coma, but she hasn't moved since dinner. And when I went to go check on her she was staring out of her window like she was waiting for her husband to come back from war."

A husband? No. A fox? Maybe.

"Well, I didn't do anything,"

Alex snorted from the armchair across from Jason. "Like hell."

"I love this whole no-secrets thing we have going on in this house." Troy remarked without humor.

"Me too." The elder Clark replied.

"What are you talking about?" Martha said, obviously not in the mood for playing games when it was Sharpay's feelings on the line. Troy didn't want to hurt her. It was just those fucking text messages that screwed him up. He should have gone with option one and given the phone back. It would have saved him all this drama. He frowned, thinking of Sharpay, sitting in her room all alone, frozen. He wanted to go see her. But now he couldn't stop himself from being jealous.

"Tell her, Troy." Vince said, getting up from the couch and moving over towards the stair- either giving them unnecessary privacy or to go tell James. Either or. Alex followed, saying, "It'll get out eventually. It always does."

"What, did you kill someone?" Martha asked, sitting down in the space Vince had retreated from. "You guys are so dramatic."

"Bingo!" Jason shouted, swinging his feet of the armrest and placing them on the floor to face the two of them on the couch. Martha raised an eyebrow. "Well, metaphorically speaking."

"Thank you, Jay, that cleared everything up."

"What's the tone about, Shorty?"

"I'm not that short. You're just tall."

"That's exactly what a short person would say."

"I'm _not _that short."

"Five foot one isn't short?"

"I'm five foot three and a half!"

"Under average."

"By like half an inch. If you round up-"

"You can't round up."

"Everyone rounds up."

"I don't round-"

"Like hell you –"

"_Alright_!" Troy interrupted, holding his hand out, signaling the both of them to _shut up_. He tossed the cordless controller onto the coffee table and propped his feet up, covering his eyes as he sank back against the soft blue cushion. Martha gave Jason a look before turning her hazel eyes back to him. "Spill."

"I may have… broken some sort of code."

"You're going to have to be a little more specific, Troy. The Boyfriend code? The Stuart code? The Society code?

Troy dropped his hands and shook his head. No, he did not break the Stuart code. And he most certainly did _not_ break the Society code. _No one_ broke the Society code. Martha knew that. "I don't know what category this would fall under, exactly."

"Did you like… cheat on Sharpay or something?"

"No. It's not like that. I would never go there. You know I wouldn't."

"I know." Martha smiled and tucked some blonde hair behind her ear. "But I feel better actually hearing you say it out loud."

"He read Sharpay's text messages." Jason threw in. Martha smile dropped. "Are you kidding me? That's like… Boyfriend _and_ Honesty _and_ Friend _and _Privacy code. Par for the course, Troy."

"Technically, I was Jason when I read them."

"Role-play. For the win!" His roommate cheered to no one in particular. Martha rolled her eyes. "Who was the text from? Jimmie? Because I've spoken to him before and he seems really nice. And Sharpay says that they're just friends."

"No, it's not Jimmie." Troy affirmed. He had forgotten about Jimmie, actually. But while he was at it, he might as well have read his text messages as well. Because really, he'd always wondered what they talked about now that they weren't living by each other anymore. "Fox."

"Fox? As in your cousin Fox?"

"How many other Foxes do you know?" Jason asked snarkily.

Martha snapped her head. "I was just making sure."

"You're so weird."

"_I'm _weird? Was that a serious statement?"

"No, Cox, I was announcing a lie to you both."

"You sleep with girls for sport. Who knows with you?"

"I do _not _sleep with girls for sport."

"Betting is practically a sport."

"In what universe did I bet to sleep with girls?"

"Sorry, lip contact, _whatever_."

"You're just jealous I get more than you."

"More what? Gonorrhea?"

"Hey! You know I got tested. I'm clean as-"

"The bottom of your shoe?"

"Oh, _ouch_, that really-"

"What the _hell_ is wrong with you two?" Troy interrupted for the second time, looking back and forth between the two of them. Martha folded her arms, cheeks flushed. Jason shook his head, an unexplainable smirk on his face. Had the entire world gone crazy? "Since when have you two been at each other's throats?"

"Maybe it's his time of the month." Martha suggested.

"Maybe it's time for someone to tell me why I decided to read those messages and fuck up my relationship."

"You can't blame yourself, Troy. I would have been curious, too. But you can't take it back so all there's left to do is fix it."

Troy stared at his feet. Focused on the white puma on his black socks. "You know her bracelet?"

"The silver one?"

"Fox gave it to her."

"She said she got that as a birthday present in Mau- _Oh_… Well…" Martha brought her finger to her mouth. "That's interesting."

"You don't think they… You know."

"Got it on?" Jason volunteered casually.

Martha shook her head. "Charming terms, Cross."

"Thanks," He started, and Troy was waiting for them to go into another rant, but they didn't. Surprised, he let out a breath and looked up at Martha. "Well?"

"No. She definitely wouldn't sleep with Fox. She's not that kind of girl."

"That's what I was thinking." Troy agreed, relaxing at the sound of someone else reassuring him.

"If she slept with anyone, she slept with Jimmie."

His blue eyes widened. He'd been so focused on Sharpay with his cousin that he hadn't even considered the obvious. Just because they hadn't dated didn't mean they hadn't _experimented _during one drunken night. Oh God. He'd worry about that one later. Or never again- which would be more preferable.

"Well, what are you going to do about it? Keep acting weird?"

"I don't _know_ what to do, that's the problem. I'll think of something. But you can't tell her, Martha. If Sharpay finds out, she'll-"

"I won't. I wouldn't do that." She grinned softly, patting his thigh. "But you better think of something."

"I will. I just… need to sleep on it."

"Fine. But in the meantime think about this…" Martha chirped, standing up and replacing her long blue scarf around her neck, getting ready to leave. Troy thought she was going to say something extremely helpful and poetic, causing the answer to his problem to pop into his mind and solve everything. But alas, all he got was:

"Sharpay is sitting in her room, catatonic, staring out the window like a zombie."


	26. The Visitor

Figures Ms. Darbus would save Romeo and Juliet for last. Sharpay shifted her weight from her left heel to her right, staring down at the edited paperback copy of the play in her hands. The old teacher had given the students a full explanation of how this was her favorite Shakespeare play, and that she loved when students 'got into it'. She'd ordered the twelve juniors to push the desks to the sides of the room and form a circle, where they could act out the scenes. And for whatever reason, Ms. Darbus had chosen Sharpay to read as Juliet. On any other occasion, Sharpay wouldn't have minded because she loved the play as well, however Troy was still acting weird, and she was not in the mood to read the most classic love tale of all time. She stood in the center of the misshapen circle with Paul Tracy- Nolan's cute, freckled friend who sat behind Troy and on the other side of Sharpay- who was reading as Romeo. She could feel Troy's blue eyes on hers as the two recited lines but refused to look back at him. If he wasn't going to talk, she wasn't going to acknowledge him. Maybe he'd get the hint and cave.

Unlikely.

They'd just approached the scene in the first Act I where Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time, and Sharpay's disinterest must have come through her voice, because Ms. Darbus called her out on it. Three times. "Sharpay, more feeling! This girl is in love at first sight. She doesn't even know who this boy is and yet she knows she can't live without him. Imagine the emotions."

She resisted the urge to look at Troy. If only Ms. Darbus knew. She let out her frustration in a sigh, took a deep breath, and read, "Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,

which mannerly devotion shows in this. For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,

and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."

"Have not saints lips" Paul said, with even less emotion than herself. Sharpay looked up at him as he spoke, pretending he was someone else. This class was taking forever. "and holy-"

"Where is the _chemistry_?" Ms. Darbus questioned, her arms flailing. She looked around at the other students, as if she were expecting an answer to her rhetorical question. "I need feeling. Do I need to switch readers?" _Yes, please_. Sharpay silently begged. Ms. Darbus adjusted her glasses. "Kelsi, read as Juliet."

Kelsi looked up from her book, a lock of auburn hair falling over her left eye. She no doubt had her cell phone hidden behind the binding and wasn't even sure what play was being read. "I think I'm much better suited as Lady Capulet, Ms. Darbus."

Ms. Darbus pursed her lips but didn't push her objection. She looked at Chris and called his name. But it was no use. Chris and his greasy hair were too busy staring up at the clock, counting down the minutes until class was over and he could go back to his dorm and _not_ shower. The teacher pinched the bridge of her nose, about ready to give up when someone volunteered with, "I'll read as Romeo."

"Thank you, Mr. Bolton."

Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek; pulling at the sleeves of her new Empirio Armani dress. She's worn black today as a symbol of mourning. She looked up and saw Troy pushing the sleeves of his navy Ralph Lauren polo up to his elbows. Why did he have to look so good when she was trying to avoid staring? He looked better as Romeo than Leonardo DiCaprio did. And Leo looked _good_. There was no smile on Troy's lips yet he looked like he wanted to say something. Sharpay opened her mouth, about to repeat her lines when the phone on Ms. Darbus' desk rang. "One moment, students. Don't start!"

"You didn't do anything." Troy said, almost like he could hear the thoughts running through Sharpay's brain. She stared back into his eyes, unable to believe him. It was obvious that she had. Otherwise they'd have been speaking the past thirty-six hours. She shook her head. "You're not going to pull one of those 'It's not you, it's me' things are you?"

"No." He affirmed. "That would imply some sort of break up. And by no means do I want that to happen… Unless you do. If you do, I'll humbly protest."

"Why would I want that? You're the one who's been acting weird-"

"I know."

"Ignoring me but pretending like you haven't-"

"I know."

"Not walking me-"

"I know, I know." He interrupted in a quieter voice, looking up to make sure Ms. Darbus was still on the telephone and ignoring the curious stares from the people on the outside of the circle. "I'm sorry."

"Oh… you're sorry…" Sharpay didn't believe him. If he were sorry he wouldn't be acting like this. She wasn't being irrational, was she? "Thank you."

"Sharpay-"

"Juliet! Her name for the next four minutes is Juliet, Mr. Bolton." Ms. Darbus corrected, reclaiming her standing position in between Emma and Zeke. "Continue from your line, Romeo."

Troy never took his eyes off of Sharpay. "Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?"

Her breath caught in her throat. He was reciting Shakespeare. As Romeo. To her. As Juliet. From memory. It was like a dream was coming true. Taylor Swift music was playing in the background of her mind. She could feel the jaw of every other girl in the class dropping, drool pooling onto the cold cement tile floor. Reading her mind, again, Troy smirked. If she weren't so confused she would have kissed him. Right there.

Hell, who cared if she was confused.

She felt inadequate now, having to look back down at her book. "Ay… Um… Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer."

"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair."

Sharpay was going to turn into a heap of butter. This was ridiculous. How could he switch her emotions on and off like that? He was a wizard, wasn't he? A reject from Hogwarts? Jasper Hale's long lost brother or something? Oh… Troy… As a vampire… _Stop drooling, Sharpay. _"You're cheating," She whispered.

"I'm only reading." He whispered back, eyes sparkling. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. And it's hard to be upset with you when you're doing it."

"Doing what?"

"Being… you."

Charming, dazzling, entrancing…

"Am I interrupting something?" Ms. Darbus threw into the middle of their hushed argument. Sharpay narrowed her eyes as Troy's amused face. They stared for a few seconds. "No." She mumbled. "Nothing."

"Then continue, please. Preferably before the bell rings."

"Saints do not move," Sharpay read, peeved. She wished the bell would just ring. That way she could get away from Troy and his magic powers. Of course, the bell ringing would mean free period- with Troy. And then lunch- with Troy And then Modern Euro- which would mean another class with Troy, staring across the room at him. Stupid scheduling. Not that she wanted to switch classes permanently. She could go for a simple daily change. Maybe they could call her down to the office or something. Or she could fake sick and go chill in the infirmary. Though, chill is probably what she would do. Last she remembered, the place wasn't exactly a heating pad. "Though grant for prayer's sake."

"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged."

"Wait a second." Paul called out, interrupting Troy. The class turned to look at him as he looked over at Ms. Darbus. "They have to kiss?"

"That's what the words imply, don't they?" Kelsi asked, not bothering to look over at him. Sharpay bit back her smile.

"If they wish to portray the action, they may do so at their appropriate discretion."

"I think I should go back to playing Romeo, then." Paul suggested, nodding vigorously to himself. He motioned with his hand. "These two have no chemistry."

"Are you blind?" Emma squealed from the other side of the circle. "Look at them!"

Sharpay wished she could have stopped herself from blushing. Paul wasn't going to give up so easy. Little creep. Troy looked like he wanted to tell him off but was restraining. His jaw was locked. His eyes were focused on something over Sharpay's shoulder and there was a hint of amusement in his blue irises. She bit the corner of her lip. He was hot when he was jealous. Well… _hotter_. "Maybe-" Paul started.

"Maybe you should have read a better Romeo?" Troy said, earning a snicker or two from surrounding students.

"Ms. Evans, continue." Ms. Darbus ordered, ending the outside discussion. She sighed as she shook her head and looked back at her book.

"Then have my lips the sin that they have took." Sharpay spoke in a lighter tone while her mind went back and forth in a discussion of its own. Troy wasn't going to kiss her, was he? Of course he wasn't. They weren't exactly speaking. But he _had _kissed her at dinner last night. And before breakfast this morning. But this was different. If something were going on between them, he wouldn't be kissing her in front of the class. Those other kisses were those we're-dating-these-kisses-are-mandatory kisses. This kiss would be more of a hey-look-at-me-look-who-I-can-kiss kind of kiss. But something about the way Troy was looking at her now made her forget there was something wrong. His eyes always had the ability to do so. The way he was looking at her said get-ready-I'm-about-to-kiss-you.

"Don't even think about it." Sharpay ordered through a whisper.

"Too late." Troy smirked, pulling Sharpay lightly by the elbow and inclining his head towards hers. Sharpay felt the radiation of jealousy coming from the outlying crowd once again, uncomfortable to feel that some of it was directed at Troy. Sharpay had always considered herself blessed with her mother's good looks but had never thought someone would be jealous of a guy she was with. She'd always been the jealousy-giver, not so much the receiver.

His lips pulled away, his timing perfectly 'appropriate'. Outside of her haze, Sharpay could practically feel Ms. Darbus beaming. Her eyes blinked open to see that Troy hadn't stepped back. She wanted to hug him, bury her face in his Fahrenheit scented chest. He smirked again, seeing right through her. "Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged. Give me my sin again." And his lips were back. And she was back in her little state of bliss.

_Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone. I'll be waiting, all there's left to-_

He pulled away. She took a few seconds to breathe and then mumbled, "You kiss by the book" under her breath. She felt Emma tug at her arm and she took a step backwards, ignoring the way Troy reveled in his glory. He knew he'd won. And she was okay with that. For now. Emma read her line as Sharpay took a spot in between Kelsi and Lea in the surrounding circle. "Madam, your mother craves a word with you."

Troy almost sent Emma into a coma while speaking to her. It was obvious no girl was immune to his charm. Sharpay was jealous for a moment, wanting it to be her he was quoting Shakespeare to. But she didn't want to be greedy. "What is her mother?"

She barely blinked, involuntarily batting her eyelashes. "Marry, bachelor, her mother is the lady-" Emma grunted in disapproval as the bell interrupted her scene with Troy. Everyone else closed their books and went to grab their belonging off the desk. Paul grimaced as he walked past Troy, and Sharpay swear she saw Troy lift his eyebrows in challenge. She slid her arms into her Diesel jacket and tucked her book into her purse. Would this mean walking to Euro wasn't going to be awkward? _Here's hoping_, she said to herself, picking up her binder and turning around. Troy was leaning in the doorframe, jacket already on. He grinned.

So did she.

/

"Are you guys talking yet?" Gabriella asked, not really caring. She pretended to be flipping through the pages of chapter 11, looking for the answer to number three. Instead she was staring at Sharpay's red booties across the room. How dare she draw attention to her perfect legs like that. Lily had been wearing red Louboutins this morning… had Sharpay d-blocked her style choice? What a poser. These thoughts seemed much more important than the class work in front of her. Because, really, when was it going to be vital for her to know about the armies of France, Germany, or Spain?

Never. That's when.

"When did we stop?" Troy questioned, scribbling something down in his too-neat-for-a-boy, too-messy-for-a-girl handwriting. He didn't even have to ask whom she was referring to. If she hadn't known better, she might have believed he was just playing stupid.

"I don't know." She said casually, eyes examining Sharpay's designer dress. She looked hot. It wasn't fair. Troy should be dating someone who'd been wearing designer clothes, shoes, and perfume since they were eight. Not someone who recently went on a shopping spree at Bluefly. Gabriella tapped the toe of her nude Christian Louboutin against the leg of desk and smoothed a hand over her red Herve Leger skirt. It'd caught the attention of more than one boy in the hallway, which was what she had been going for- ever since Blondie hooked up with Troy she's the one everyone had been staring at. The only person getting more envious and admiring glances was Lily. But _everyone _looked at Lily. "You've just been quiet since yesterday. I made an observation."

"Stalker," Jason coughed, not so subtly from her right. Gabriella kicked him with her heel.

"Um, _Ow_?"

"When we were in the snow on Saturday I got a cold. Wasn't feeling feel." He snuck a glance at her from the corner of his eye when he'd finished writing down his work. The blue was so honest Gabriella couldn't decide whether to believe him or not.

"You didn't go the infirmary, though." She noted, trying to catch him.

"It was a cold, Gabriella, not pneumonia."

"How do you know if you didn't get checked?"

"Because I didn't have a fever and I was able to move?" He went back to flipping through the pages, stopping as he found what he needed. "I've had it before. This just feels like a chest cold."

_Troy's chest… Mm…_ Gabriella smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear. She'd straightened it today, also trying to capture more attention from fellow students.

Not pathetic at all.

"Speaking of not talking." Jason interrupted, changing the subject as Troy took the opportunity to write down another answer. His work was almost finished. Her paper had two answers on it, written in crisp cursive. _Whatever_, she thought, _I'll get the answers from Taylor before she hands it in_. "What's up with James and Lily?"

"Lindsay." Troy said by mean of answer. Gabriella tried not to narrow her eyes. How did he know that? She didn't know that. Normally she knew everything. Then again she hadn't exactly had her trust fully restored in the matter of Lily. Something had to be done about that.

"She and James are back together?" Jason laughed. "This should be good."

"He and Lindsay were good together." Troy rebutted.

"Yeah," Jason snorted. "If good means horribly wrong."

"She's just high maintenance. But so was her sister, so what do you expect?"

"But Lindsay is hotter than her sister. Not as hot as Lily but hot nonetheless. Those lips, man. The lips-"

"We get it, perv." Gabriella grimaced, making eye contact with Taylor across the room and drawing her in with a finger. The girl rolled her brown eyes and grabbed her paper, handed it to Sharpay, and said something to her. Gabriella's eyes narrowed. _Stay away, Barbie._

"I speak the truth. Troy would agree if his woman wasn't two feet away."

"Agree with what?" Sharpay asked, placing the paper lightly on top of Gabriella's textbook. Troy looked up, grinned, and went back to writing. What was going on between these two? Troy being more interested in his schoolwork than Sharpay? Not. Normal.

Not that she minded.

"The fact that people who wear too much black look like they're going to a funeral." Sharpay's face dropped. Troy's eyes snapped back up. "Gabriella." He said sternly, sexily. God what she would do to just be able to attack him. With her lips. She rolled her eyes instead. "_Sorry_," she apologized with no meaning, disdain in her voice. Troy looked like he wanted to say something but held back. Was he about to insult her? Did he not like her hair? Did he prefer it curly? Had she made a mistake?

"I like your dress." Troy complimented Sharpay, "Shows off your legs."

Gabriella gagged. Sharpay blushed. "Stop that."

"Sharpay's legs… Lindsay's lips…" Jason sputtered to no one in particular. The three turned to look at him. "Lily's eyes and Kelsi's hair. Oh good-"

"Drool much?" Gabriella snapped, more insulted that he hadn't suggested any of her features than anything else. She picked up her pen and started to copy down Taylor's A+ answers. "So, back to Lindsay?"

"Is there going to be a cat fight?" Jason asked, ripping a piece of loose-leaf paper containing his work out of his three section notebook. "You know I love cat fights."

Troy closed his book, leaning back in his desk. Gabriella watched as he too ripped his work out of his notebook. Was she the only one who hadn't been working? "A cat fight would entail Lindsay being present on campus. And since Prospect isn't out for winter break yet either, I doubt she'll be making an appearance anytime soon."

"Who's Lindsay?" Sharpay asked, and Gabriella smirked to herself.

"She goes to school with the Fosters." Troy answered, ripping the rough edges off of his two sheets of work- just like Gabriella did. Were they made for each other or what? "She's a senior."

"Think Lily." Jason added. "Position- not looks."

"That… doesn't help me at all, Jason, thank you."

"Why not? It's simple?"

"Gabriella, is the reason you're such a jerk to me because I intimidate you?"

"Snap! BFB!" Jason called out. . Sharpay and Gabriella both looked over at Troy, as if he had the acronym-decoder for Jason's mind. He shrugged. Jason rolled his green eyes, "Burn. From. Blondie. BFB. Keep up."

"So… Lindsay is James' girlfriend?" Sharpay asked, back to topic, toying with a stupid silver necklace dangling from her neck. Gabriella wanted to choke her with it. Why the fuck hadn't Taylor come up with an idea to get her out yet? God, if she wanted anything done right, she was going to have to do it herself, wasn't she? She hated when her own hands got dirty. It was so much easier to place the blame on someone else.

"Not if Lily has anything to say about it." Gabriella answered, continuing to write in her perfect handwriting. This was absolutely true. Even though Lily wasn't one to share her adventures with James, it was perfectly clear that she belonged to him. The only person who dared get close to him was Lindsay Ross. And despite the fact that Lily and Lindsay were 'friends' for all intents and purposes, it was obvious that Lily had much more fun verbally thrashing Lindsay when she was dating James than she did vacationing in St. Bart's.

"Lily doesn't like her?"

"They have a complicated relationship." Troy volunteered, holding his paper out to Jason behind Gabriella's back. Jason took it and put it on top of his own, leaned over and placed it on Mr. Daniel's desk, and came back into the conversation with, "Complicated? Is that what you'd call it?"

Troy grinned and looked back at Sharpay. Gabriella wanted to throw her pen at him. "I'm putting it lightly."

"Which is why I would kill for a visit from Ross. This place has been boring as hell lately."

"If Andrew Tester finds out you hooked up with his girlfriend, there'll be drama."

"How many times do I have to tell you all that my code doesn't apply to _foreign exchange _girls?"

/

"Did I mention I like this dress?"

Troy felt Sharpay's lips curve into a smile as she pressed the door to his dorm room closed. "Maybe once or twice."

"Well, I do." He repeated, pulling her against his chest as a wave of vanilla flooded his senses. She ran her fingers through the hair at the back of his head. When had she gotten a manicure? Did it even matter? Why was that thought even in his mind right now? "I like it a lot."

"Do you have to be such a guy?" She giggled as his lips trailed over her jaw and down to the nape of her neck.

"Yes." He mumbled against her skin. "Yes I do."

Her knees hit the edge of his freshly-made mattress and she scooted back on it, bringing Troy along with her. He refocused his attention to her lips, amused at how easy it was for her to distract him from his thoughts. If he could just take this happiness and channel it into not thinking about what Sharpay did when they weren't dating, everything would be perfect. He didn't like thinking about Maui. Or Fox. Or Jimmie. Or Tiara or Gabriella or anybody else. It didn't matter. What mattered right was Sharpay. They way Sharpay spoke and the way she walked. The way she wore ripped jeans one day and designer something the next. The way her lips varied in taste depending on her flavor lip gloss. Watermelon, currently. She should be the most impor-

"Knock knock."

Troy froze just as quickly as Sharpay did. His hand released her waist as she rolled to the side, looking over at the visitor who had slipped into the room unnoticed. She sat up, but Troy stayed on his back, pressing his palms over his eyes. He didn't need to look to know whose voice it was. It was the voice of his nightmares. Except now it was real.


	27. Intimate Relations

Bet you thought I'd disappeared, huh?

* * *

Sharpay froze. What the hell was going on? Was the world suddenly turning against her? She did not need this right now. She and Troy had just gotten good again. Sort of. Maybe. She hoped. Either way, this was not exactly on her Need To Do checklist. Not that seeing Murray was such a bad thing. He wasn't too bad on the eyes. She tucked her hair behind her ear and could do nothing but stare at the tall boy in front of her. She hadn't seen Murray Fox since July. What the hell was he doing here at Eastwood? In Stuart Hall? In Troy's dorm? But then bigger questions came to her… Like, should she say hi to him? Could she hug him? Would Troy think it was weird? Wait, how did Troy know Murray? Did Troy knew she knew Murray? And most importantly: how would she tell Troy she knew Murray?

She couldn't go right out and tell Troy that she'd slept with Murray. He would think she was some slinky hoe. But she wasn't… Her and Murray's relationship was different. When they'd met at the hibachi bar in Maui, something had clicked. Like instant trust. She'd known him for two years but it felt just as strong as her friendship with Jimmie. She'd bonded with Murray as fast as she'd fallen for Troy when she'd gotten to Eastwood. But even if she explained this to Troy, she couldn't go right out and say that she'd slept with the guy who had just walked in on them hooking up. Troy would think she was insane. She and Troy hadn't even slept together yet. Then again, it's not like she had just jumped Murray's bones one night. That night at the hotel had been unintentional and unplanned. The events that followed, however, weren't as coincidental. Like the cabana... and the cloak room... and the other hotel room...

Oh god, she was a hoe.

"Well don't I get a hello?" Fox asked, his signature smirk transforming into a smile that gave her a view of his perfect teeth. Sharpay snapped back to the present, refocusing on his light grey-blue eyes.

"Of course," She answered as she slid off of the bed. She looked over at Troy, who was pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed. Why did he look so frazzled? Maybe he could tell her and she could share her own spinning thoughts and they could be frazzled together. Or not. Whichever. Her arms slid around the oddly familiar torso that was Murray Fox and she got a whiff of his cologne as his arms squeezed back. Polo Black. Just as she remembered. A million things were racing through her head. More questions. One, why was Murray here? Two, how did he know Troy? Three, had he gotten a haircut? Four, how did he find her? Five, had he been looking for her? Six, had he ever- you got the point.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, cheek pressed against his chest .

"Yes." Troy added, opening his eyes and dropping his hand. "Do tell."

"Relax, cuz, I'm here on business." Fox replied, releasing his arms from Sharpay. She felt her mouth go dry. _Cuz_? As in cousin? As in Troy and Murray were related? She locked eyes with Troy, who looked up at his cousin and then back at her. She folded her arms. He knew. Oh god, he knew. It was all over now. They were breaking up. He was mentally stamping the word 'floozy' over her face in all of their memories. "Didn't realize I'd be getting so much pleasure."

"I bet you didn't." Troy mumbled. Though Sharpay noticed he quickly shook off his irritation- if that's what it was- as he ran a hand over his messy hair. "So, how do you two know each other?"

As if he didn't already know.

Sharpay opened her mouth to speak but Murray stepped up to explain. _Good_, she thought. Who knew what would come out of her mouth if she got started. "We met in Maui, what, last year?" She nodded, he continued. "At that hibachi... sashimi... something or other restaurant ten minutes down... We were sitting a chair away from each other at the same table. I look over and see this blonde girl sitting by herself-"

"My mom went outside to take a business call."

"-trying to pick up a piece of teriyaki chicken with her chopsticks. Failing miserably."

"I'm not that bad!" She exclaimed, and made a failure attempt to smack Fox's arm with the back of her hand.

"No, of course not. Because I taught you so well." He smirked. Sharpay's jaw dropped a little. "Glad to see you're just as cocky during the school year."

"Glad to see you're wearing your birthday present." He countered and then looked over at his cousin. Sharpay toyed with a pearl on the silver bracelet guiltily. "Friends ever since."

"How... Storybook," Troy said, without even an attempt to feign excitement. She wanted to crawl back over to him and rewind the clock. She sat down on the edge of the bed. Maybe he could meet her halfway? She bit the inside of her cheek. No luck. The only thing he did was adjust his polo. "Did you come alone?"

"Do I ever?" Fox smirked, eyes shining. Sharpay looked down at her lap to avoid staring. The expression dropped but a hint of amusement was still prominent on his face. "So are you two like... a thing?"

Despite the awkward feeling curdled in her gut, she smiled. "You could say that."

"As if you weren't already aware." Troy stood up to walk around the bed. Why did there always have to be such cryptic language? Everyone must know she still couldn't understand it. They were trying to mentally torture her. Well congratulations, world, it was working.

"It would have been rude to just come out and say it, no?"

"Not when it's expected."

"But isn't it always? You know there's no such thing as secrets with _us_."

Sharpay noticed the barely noticeable inflection in Murray's voice. Extremely subtle. If she hadn't been paying such close attention to he and Troy's words she wouldn't have noticed. Troy's face was expressionless. She looked away from him, to his cousin. _Cringe_. Still amused. Eyebrow cocked. She felt awkward. Like Troy was holding something back. Like Murray was keeping a secret. But it seemed like someone always was at this place. She brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Are you guys that close?"

They both turned and looked at her. Fox threw his arm around his cousin's shoulder, pulling him into his side. "Super close. Right, cuz?"

"Right." Troy echoed, flashing a quick smile.

Sharpay smiled up at them. Though she'd never thought to put it together, standing before her right now, they did have a family resemblance going. She could have gone her whole life never connecting the two of them. But really, what were the chances? The coincidence made her slightly less than uncomfortable. "Cute."

"Indeed you are, madam." Fox said, clapping Troy's shoulder before removing his arm. Troy looked tense. Either he was lying when he said they were close or there was a spider in his pants or, worse, he knew something had happened between them. Something that hadn't even happened between them yet. Deciding it would fall upon herself to try and cheer him up, she got up from the bed and took two steps, settling right against Troy's chest. His arms pulled her in closer and she forgot all about Murray as his lips pressed into her hair.

She grinned, her arms folded in between both of their chests. She put her chin on his chest and looked up at him. He looked down at her and flashed a tight-lipped smile. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. "You okay?"

"Yeah." He said. And about 8% of Sharpay believed him. "You?"

"Shocked. Confused. Curious." She ticked of a few of the adjectives buzzing around her brain to describe the situation. She watched his blue eyes flick over her head at Murray and then back to her, getting the feeling that whatever adjectives were infesting his mind were definitely not the same as hers. "Hey." His attention came back to her and his eyes examined her face. She uncurled her arm and tapped his lips. She tried to look as cute as possible. "Smile please."

Troy closed the new gap of air between them, grinning like he had before Murray showed up. Teeth and all. Cuteness: check. "This good?"

"That great." She replied, thinking about what they sounded like to Murray, wondering if he cared. But really, why would he? Troy let his head tilt down to kiss her, and she slid her hands into his hair. She could tell he was still smiling, and she felt like the biggest jerk in the world.

"Hey Bolton, guess who the cats dragged in?" Jason's voice penetrated the air as he leaned into the room, hands on either side of the door frame.

"Fox?" Murray answered for himself.

"Oh, hey man." Jason didn't even sound surprised. "What up?"

"Watching these two suck face." He answered, and Sharpay pulled away despite herself. Troy dropped his hand down to hers, intertwining their fingers. It was little things like that that had her warming up inside. She looked at Jason, who was nodding his head. "Always fun."

"Come on guys, show's starting." Alex said, poking his head into Troy's room momentarily, over Jason's shoulder. He gave Fox a nod before continuing down the hallway. You could hear his sneakers against the finished wood staircase.

"What show?" Jason smirked and glanced at Troy knowingly and she followed suit. Troy seemed to understand. His blue eyes narrowed slightly as he fit the pieces together in his head. "Lindsay's-"

"Affirmative." Jason replied.

"Does Lily-"

"Negative."

"That is a show." Troy mumbled, thumb playing over Sharpay's knuckles. Murray, somehow, noticed that movement and made eye contact with her. He smiled. A smile that, in her mind, said something like 'he doesn't know, but he will soon enough'. Her mind was working against her. She leaned her cheek against Troy's chest for support.

"Shall we?" Fox asked, leading the three of them out of the room with the flourish of a hand and a raised eyebrow. Jason practically skipped out of the room. He must have found the entire situation completely riveting. Sharpay decided that he must be watching Gossip Girl on his iPod in his spare time. That or The Hills. Or both.

When the troop had made its way to the common room, Jason settled onto the couch opposite of where James was sitting with a brunette Sharpay didn't recognize perched on his lap. James' roommate Vince was sitting adjacent the two, talking about the weather. Sharpay didn't know people actually had conversations about the weather. Except for... like... weather men. "Is that Lindsay?"

"Yeah, Lindsay Ross. She goes to school with Faye and Leesh."

"Why is she sitting on James' lap?"

"That's the complicated question." He could probably see the confusion playing across her face, because he continued with, "No one is exactly sure where James' feelings lie. Not me or Vince. Not even Lily."

"Is that why she's going to be mad when she finds out Lindsay's here?"

"Oh, Lily knows." Fox answered. Sharpay watched Troy look over at him. His cousin added, "It's just a matter of when she decides to break up the party."

"Should be any minute now." Troy reasoned, turning back to look at James and Lindsay. "Even if they've been friends since the 90s, she won't let it go on for very long."

"Which is strange, seeing as Lindsay's the one who saw him first."

Troy glanced over at him. "What does that matter?"

"It's called 'first dibs', cuz."

"But Lily's the one who made the first move. Therefore dibs-rights are granted to her."

"First to have sight, gets dibs rights."

Sharpay listened to their back and forth, the entire time hoping that Murray wasn't hinting to a second meaning of these dibs-rights. And even more, that Troy wasn't aware and was knowingly battling and staking his claim. She bit the inside of her cheek. Was Murray trying to say that he had dibs because he had met Sharpay first?

"And besides," Fox added, looking over at her for a brief moment and then back to his cousin. "Who said Lindsay never made a move?"

Sharpay's eyes widened the same amount that Troy's narrowed. She was imagining this. Murray did not just say that. He did not just give her that look. He did not just hint at what she thought he hinted at. Please, please, please let Troy be oblivious to all of this underlying secrecy. Unless, of course, there was a chance that there was no underlying message, and Sharpay was just overreacting. And she had to admit that there was a very strong chance that that is what was happening, because Troy shook his head. "Never happened. James clearly gravitates toward Lily with a pull stronger than anything towards Lindsay. Even if they did successfully date for a while, they're just best friends now."

"Like best friends can't make out." Fox scoffed. And Sharpay immediately thought of Jimmie. He was right. "We all know better than that."

"Never said best friends couldn't make out." Troy countered.

"This to say you've made out with one of the Fosters, Troy?" Sharpay grinned, hoping he would deny the claim.

"I didn't make out with one of the Fosters..." He said, avoiding her eyes. Her hopes remained intact. He scratched the back of his neck, "I made out with both."

Aaaaaand hopes dissolved.

"Awesome." Sharpay muttered, not really meaning to say it out loud. Then again, she _had _made out with her Hawaii best friend. Who was she to complain? Funny enough, he rubbed her back sympathetically. Troy didn't seem to like that.

"It was a long time ago." He said, and she could tell he was trying to glare at the comforting hand as Fox pulled it away. "Not a big deal."

"Sorry. Green monster moment."

"Don't worry about it," he smiled. "I've had plenty."

Sharpay grinned back at him. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to go back in time and not give in to Murray's charms. Things would be so much easier right now. Who knows how long Murray and Lindsay would be staying. She wasn't sure how long she'd be able to hold up in the same room with both boys. Fox tilted his head in Lindsay and James' direction. "Looks like Lily's about to have one, too."

"Aren't you freezing?" James asked, hand running over Lindsay's bare leg once. Then twice. "I'll never understand how girls wear stuff like this in winter."

"Not that we don't appreciate." Vince added, body sunken into the couch. He pointed at her legs. "Because we do."

"Hush," She raised an eyebrow, smiled, and said, "Fashion knows not of comfort, Jameson." And then she kissed him. And his hand was still on her leg. And her hand was on his jaw. And Vince retracted his finger. And Jason was staring. And Murray was smirking. And Troy exchanged looks with Alex, who was leaning against the wall near the door. And it was like a scene from a movie. What was that Troy had said about them _just_ being best friends?

"Where'd you get that line from. A cereal box?"

Sharpay turned her head, catching Lily as she walked through the front doors of Stuart, peeling off her red jacket, revealing a pleated gold dress. Angela followed right behind her, cheeks flushed from the cold weather. As Sharpay stepped back to let her pass she bumped into the arms of both Troy and Murray, both of whom lifted their hands to steady her. Awk-_ward_.

"Fox." Lily acknowledged.

"Lillian."

Lindsay pulled away from James, looking towards the door. It amazed Sharpay how calm she and James could be when Lily was so openly shooting rays of disapproval through her sapphire blue eyes. It felt like she was witnessing a wild west showdown and Lily was about to say 'Partner, this school just ain't big enough for the both of us'.

"You know I don't eat cereal." Lindsay grinned as she looked over at her competition, tucking a lock of wavy brown hair behind her ear. "I was just asking Jameson about you."

"Yes. That looked like an extremely riveting conversation from over here."

"Are they always like this?" Sharpay asked quietly, turning her head towards Troy. He looked over her head at Fox and then down at her, as if to make sure he was the one she was speaking to. "Mostly when it comes to James. They may be best friends but the man's a magnet."

"And you aren't?" She grinned, elbowing his side lightly. He grinned back, reaching over her shoulder and pulling her into his side. Sharpay responded by wrapping her arms around his torso as he kissed the top of her head. Ah. That was _much_ better. She could practically feel Troy's thoughts.

Back. Off. Fox.

"Lil, be nice." James ordered casually, removing his hand from Lindsay's leg and instead resting his arms straight across. She brushed a piece of hair out of his face. "Like telling a bull not to charge... A bee not to pollenate..." She looked up at Lily and cocked her head. Her innocent hazel eyes were gleaming. "Would you like another metaphor?"

"No, what I'd like is your lips away from _Jameson_." Lily tossed her coat over the back of the couch Vince was sitting on. "Is that isn't too much trouble."

"Really, Lily, green is an ugly color on you."

"I'm not. Jealous."

"Like hell."

"Alright, enough." James interjected, sliding out from underneath Lindsay's legs. He straightened out his slim fitting khakis and took authority, just as the bell rang across campus signaling it was the end of last period. The class Troy and Jason's teacher had cancelled. The class Sharpay had snuck out early from to meet Troy in Stuart. The sound gave the illusion that he had become the referee. Sharpay looked back and forth between he and Lily, really hoping that she wasn't going to have to be the James in a situation like this between Murray and Troy. She squeezed her arms a little tighter around him. Lily raised a dark eyebrow at the brunette she was dueling for. "What's the deal, Lil?"

She stared at him for a few seconds, then Lindsay out of the corner of her eye, and then back at him. "James. Pick. Now."

Lindsay crossed her legs, lightly bouncing her nine hundred and twenty dollar YSL pumps. "I concur. It's only fair. Let her down easy, James."

"Are you trying to get murdered?" Jason asked across the coffee table. Lindsay looked over at him and smirked.

"Don't change the topic." Lily said blatantly.

"She's right. Get it over with. Bandaid."

"Lindsay, just shut up."

"Jesus, Moore, take a Midol. I'm agreeing with you."

"I didn't ask for your acquiescence."

"You totally got that word from a Word-of-the-Day wall calendar."

"It's called an education. Get one."

Troy leaned his mouth towards Sharpay's ear. She shivered. "And James intervenes in three... two..."

"Lindsay." James said simply, in his reprimanding voice. Sharpay smiled up at Troy as she released her arms from him. Lily turned to him. He took a few steps closer without saying anything. The whole room was clearly hanging on their every word. The soap opera climaxed when James looked back at Lindsay on the couch for a long second, then turned back to the girl in front of him. Perched on the arm of the chair Jason was sunken into, Angela bit her dark purple thumb nail, anticipating the fate of her brother and her best friend. Sharpay bit her bottom lip. The anticipation was the only thing distracting her from the jumble of her own mind. And then he said it. "I choose you."

"What is she, a Pokemon?" Jason mumbled. "Ow!" He added as Angela smacked him with the back of her hand, smiling broadly.

Lily tilted her head and looked at the brunette James had left on the couch. She batted her lashes once. "That clear enough for you?"

"Why do you have to be such a bitch?" James asked, shaking his head as he smirked at Lily.

"Because I love you, idiot. Why else?" She answered, grabbing the collar of his Ralph Lauren polo and pulling into a kiss. The deep show-offy kind you only have dreams about. That Sharpay dreamed about, anyway. Mostly involving her and Troy taking the place of classic Disney characters minus the animation. She was such a four year old. Lily was saying words like 'acquiescence' and here she was dreaming about her and Troy harmonizing to A Whole New World. God, she hoped no one heard her talk in her sleep.

Or sing...

After a few minutes of the room staring, Lindsay smoothed a hand over the bottom of her dress and said, "Well, my job's done. Pay up James."

"Nice timing, Lindsay." Murray snickered.

Lily's hand dropped from James' collar to his chest and she pushed him a step away with purpose. "Job?" She looked over at Lindsay, who looked away from Fox, bit her bottom lip, and leaned back into the couch. Fox didn't even try to hide his amusement. Her sapphire eyes narrowed as she turned back to the boy she'd just shown public affection for. No one pulled the wool over her eyes and lived to enjoy it. "I hate you."

He grinned and reached for her waist with one hand. "Not what you said thirty seconds ago."

She swatted at his hand. "That was before I-"

"Thought you were actually losing?" Lindsay finished, finger-combing her hair. Lily spun on her, pointing a manicured finger. Her face was a mixture of irritation, acceptance, and if you looked close enough- a slight hint of embarrassment. "You! I hate you, too. Don't talk to me."

"Oh, babe, don't blame her."

Lily took the hand she was pointing at Lindsay with and pressed it into the middle of James' torso. "Don't _babe_ me, I hate you more."

He grinned, amused. She pushed him a step backwards. "Yeah?"

She pushed him back another two steps. "Mm."

"Then why are you pushing me up the stairs?"

"So I can show you how much I hate you."

"Don't you love happy endings?" Jason cooed, clasping his hands to his heart mockingly as James grabbed Lily's hand from his body, held it, and jogged up the steps as Lily half chased him.

"Don't be jealous you're not getting any right now, Cross." Angela said, sliding off the arm of the chair and re-settling on the couch next to Vince. Alex plopped down on her other side. Jason scoffed. "As if I couldn't be if I wanted to, Wiley."

"Looks like I'm sleeping in a single tonight." Vince mumbled and Jason snickered, throwing a blue couch pillow at his head. Angela put up a hand in defense, in case it veered off course and hit her. It didn't. Jason could be a baseball player.

"You could always sleep in Brooke's bed." Angela grinned at him knowingly. He turned to her. "Hush tones, Wiley."

"Tell that to Brooke." She grabbed the pillow off his lap, hugging it to her chest. "_Vince! Oh, Vince!_"

/

Troy looked over at Sharpay, whose brown eyes had widened significantly. He wanted to laugh but somehow he found it inappropriate. Fox clearly didn't, he squeezed Vince's shoulders from behind before walking around the couch. "Vincent, on a school night?"

Vince laughed as Fox took James' now vacant seat. "The heart wants what the heart wants."

"I'm not exactly sure it's your heart doing the wanting." Jason smirked, reaching over to the coffee table to stick his hand into the fruit roll up box.

"Be nice, Jason." Sharpay said, walking over to sit on the arm of the chair Angela had left open. She held out her hand. "Not everyone is as gross as you."

"I'm not being gross," he laughed, holding the box away from her with his opposite hand. "I'm being a guy."

"Not all guys are as gross as you." She stated, reaching across his body.

"Yes they are. Bolton just knows how to hide it." Jason corrected. He pressed a palm against her ribcage to hold her off, thwarting her attempt to steal his snack. "Troy! Control your woman!"

Snapping back to reality, Troy looked up to find Sharpay wrestling Jason for his prize box of snacks. He'd been too busy wrapped up in his ridiculous notions of she and Fox to be paying attention to anything going on in front of him. He didn't like being jealous but he couldn't help it. He didn't like their little back-and-forths. He didn't like him touching her. He didn't like the way she seemed uncomfortable. He didn't like the way he didn't know why she had a reason to be. And he really didn't like the way she seemed so confused. But there wasn't much he could do about that aspect. Going down that road would unfold an entire map of secrets she just wasn't ready to know. He would just have to push it all aside for now. Rolling his blue eyes, he walked around the couch to Jason and Sharpay. He slid his arms around her waist, barely having to pull back for her to fall against his chest. He buried his face into her hair. She ran her fingers along his arms. There. That was more like it.

"Cutest couple award goes to..." Angela trailed off. Jason looked to his left, tearing open the silver wrapper. He wrinkled his nose, "Don't encourage them."

"I don't know about cutest." Fox said while typing something on his iPhone.

"Don't be a jerk, Murray." Sharpay scolded while Troy let out a small laugh. Nobody called Fox by his first name. He wouldn't let anyone. Half his family didn't even call him Murray. Wait- so why did he let Sharpay?

"Dude," Vince laughed. "Why do you let her call you that?"

Troy lifted his head from Sharpay's neck. _Yes Fox, why?_ His cousin smirked, "She's a special circumstance."

"Or the only one who refused to call you Fox."

"I wouldn't call it a refusal... More of a determination to irk me."

"I would never purposely irk you." Sharpay let out a giggle and Troy's jealousy started up again. He tried not to take it too personally. Sharpay would never purposely annoy anyone. Except, more recently, Gabriella. But he didn't mind that too much.

"Oh, no," Fox shook his head. He put his phone down on his thigh and looked across the table with his blue-grey eyes. His stupid gleaming Murray Fox blue-grey eyes. "Of course not."

"Well if it irritates you that much, I'll start calling you-"

"Where's Foxy?"

Troy didn't need to turn his head to know it was Martha skipping through the door, bringing the cold air with her. He heard the sound of accompanying heels and knew that she wasn't alone.

"Well, you don't exactly have to call me _that_." Fox reasoned to Sharpay before raising his hand in the air and smiling at Martha. "Right here, short stack."

"So he can make cracks on your height and I can't?" Jason asked, leaning his head back to look at her. "That hurts, Cox."

"Maybe it's because you're not nearly as suave as he is." Brooke said, pulling her gloves off by the fingers. She smirked and walked over to the armrest next to Vince. "Then again, not many are."

"We can only aspire." Vince smirked back.

"He's just so charming." Martha teased, leaning her elbows against the back of the arm chair, still rosy from the cold weather. She looked like a doll.

"Geeze, Martha, date him already." Gabriella said dryly. Troy looked back and saw her and her un-Gabriella-like red skirt pushing the front door shut. With Kelsi and Ryan canoodling silently by the coat rack and Martha flirt-fighting with Jason, she seemed to be the only one without a male counterpart. Not that Troy was about to volunteer to be her snuggle buddy. He'd rather snuggle with Jason.

"Alright, settle." Angela interrupted, voice rising above the room. "While we've got a majority of the gang here, let's talk PTC."

Sharpay tilted her head up toward Troy. "What's a PTC?"

"Post Turkey Celebration."

"Or Pouring Tequila Constantly," Martha snickered, shrugging her jacket off and laying it over the couch. She ran a hand through her hair, "in Jason's case."

"Shut up," Jason retorted with his mouth full. Whipping her with the other end of the fruit roll up. "One time."

"Dress code?" Kelsi asked, pulling Ryan by the hand to join the conversation.

"Sexy." Fox stated. As if it were obvious.

"As if we were planning otherwise." Brooke responded, simultaneously slipping her hand into Vince's. The move was surreptitious, like they didn't want anyone to see. Like they were trying to keep their actual feelings a secret from everyone else. Sharpay must have noticed the movement as well, because she nudged him lightly with her elbow. She looked up at him and her brown eyes were smiling. He couldn't resist the cuteness she was radiating, so he leaned down and kissed her lightly. He swore he felt Gabriella shaking her head behind his back. Brooke asked the second question. "Location?"

"My house." Vince answered. "As usual."

"Where are Mr. and Mrs. Gati?"

"Italy?" Vince guessed, looking over at Angela. "Maybe France. It's hard to keep track of them sometimes."

"Suffice to say there will be no chaperones at this gathering." Alex added to elaborate on the statement.

"Not unless you count Tom." He laughed.

"And Tom would be..." Sharpay asked. A few people in the room turned to look at her like she had just asked an obvious question. Gabriella let out a choked laugh behind him. He loosened his grip on Sharpay enough to turn and face her. "Gabriella."

She raised a dark eyebrow. "Problem?" He just stared at her. He didn't need to point out she was purposely being a bitch for her to know it. "_What_? I wasn't the only one who thought it was a stupid question."

"Nobody said it was stupid." Fox clarified. And Troy was actually thankful for his cousin in that moment.

"Not out loud." Kelsi murmured, causing Ryan to let out an irritated breath. She rolled her eyes and added, "_Sorry_."

"He's our bartender." Vince answered in an attempt to diffuse the tension.

"You have your own bartender?" Sharpay sounded slightly amazed, and Troy found it adorable. It was one of the things he liked about her. Her humble-ness. How she didn't have her own bartender like Vince. Or her own personal assistant like Kelsi or a chauffeur like Lily.

"He came with the bar." He joked, propping his legs up on the coffee table.

"This is going down Friday, right?" Alex asked. Angela nodded next to him. Martha squinted, trying to plan a schedule in her head while she spoke, "That leaves a four day shopping window. Three, not counting today."

"We could always shop in Kelsi's closet." Gabriella suggested. "We all know how she loves to hand out her designer-ware."

Troy wondered if she was making a reference to the time Kelsi lent out one of her dresses to Sharpay for her date with Nolan. His brain recalled a magnificent image of her legs when she and Ryleigh had walked towards them. He looked down at them now. Sitting on the arm of the chair right now, her black dress was slightly higher than it should be. Could they go back upstairs now?

"I don't know if I can buy anything else right now." Sharpay spoked, interrupting his male thoughts. "I'm sort of waiting for my mom to murder me for the Thanksgiving weekend receipts. And I don't think I bought any dresses thats qualify as sexy for the occasion."

"What about that sequin dress you have?" Martha asked.

"I think that's more flashy than sexy."

"Sequins can be sexy." Fox threw in. "Have you seen Beyonce?"

"I think I might have actually brought the dress back to New York with me."

"If you wanted a dress, I'd buy you one." Troy offered. Sharpay turned on him with big eyes. "Please no. I couldn't accept that."

"He's your man candy. It's, like, his job." Martha laughed. Sharpay shook her head, "I couldn't accept anything like that. Especially knowing the price tags of the clothing from the stores where you all shop."

"It's not a big deal." Troy said truthfully, rubbing her arm lightly. It really wouldn't be. He used to buy Tiara things all the time. It was sort of second nature. Besides, he liked to buy things for girls he liked. It started with a bouquet of flowers for Heather McCoy in the fifth grade. Then moved on to almost everything else for Tiara. It made him feel good, and it made him happy that he was making other people happy. And so far the only thing he had bought for Sharpay was brunch from both the diner and the Yorkville Creperie."I'm the worst gift-receiver ever. Really. I have guilt problems."

"I'm just going to have to buy you things without you knowing, then, I guess." He grinned. She laughed while whining an adorable "Noooo." The Tiffany bracelet around her wrist brushed against his arms as she reached up to touch his chin. And all of a sudden he wondered if she had put up a similar fight accepting a gift from Fox.

He really hoped she had.

/

"I cannot believe you talked me into coming with you guys." Sharpay spoke aloud, loud enough to reach the dressing room next door where Martha was trying on her own hoard of 'sexy' party dresses. She shimmied into a sequin embellished Alice + Olivia mini and reached around to zipper it. "I'm not buying any."

"No you aren't." Martha agreed. "Troy is. Hence why he gave me his credit card."

"What?" She held the dress up in the front with her hand, pulling open the velvet dressing room curtain. She stood in front of the purple curtain Martha was hiding behind for a few seconds until she heard the muted sound of a zipper being pulled up. She pulled open the curtain with her free hand to find the blonde standing there in a black dress with a flash of lace over her rib cage. "Are you kidding me?"

Martha bit her lip to hide a smile. "He told me not to tell you. He said you would never agree to it."

"Well he was right." Sharpay mumbled while her friend spun her around to help her zipper up her own dress. "I don't even know why I came. I have dresses back at school."

"Evans, you really need to start accepting this lifestyle." Lily suggested as she entered the dressing room with five hangers dangling off her pointer finger, each holding a designer dress. Sharpay couldn't even picture the girl in an outfit not bought from Sak's or a boutique like the one they were currently shopping at. "Embrace it. You'll find the entire shopping experience much more satisfying."

"You'll definitely want to embrace it once you look in the mirror." Martha whistled. "_Hello _Blonde Beyonce."

"Pretty sure Troy will want to embrace it, too," Kelsi smirked, coming out of her own dressing room on the other side of the wall. She had a soft leopard print dress on that wasn't very Kelsi-like compared to her normally darker ensembles. She winked suggestively. "If you know what I mean."

Martha looked up and down at the dress her friend was wearing. Kelsi did the same. "Trade?" Martha asked. "Done," replied Kelsi, and the the two went into their mutual dressing cubicles.

Sharpay bit her cheek and looked at herself in the mirror. The gold sequin dress _did_ look better than her old sequin dress... Still. She didn't want Troy to purchase it. She would rather buy it herself and face her mother's wrath. She looked down at the price tag and nearly winced. Nope. Definitely not letting Troy buy it for her. She walked back into the dressing room and pulled the curtain closed. She took it off before she could get any more ideas. She pulled her PacSun jeans back on and called the dress hunting over. She walked out of the cubicle, determined to wear a dress already in her closet. She'd made it into the front of the store before realizing her phone was still in the dressing room. Her Sigerson Morrison boots barely made a noise against the plush carpet of the small boutique in the town next to Eastwood.

"She hasn't told him yet?" Martha was whispering, and she wasn't sure who or about whom she was speaking.

"No." Lily whispered back. "But she will."

"How can you be sure?" Sharpay took another quiet step forward, curious.

"Because Fox is Troy's cousin. I'm not sure she can hold all that guilt in." And her mouth went dry. Fox. They were talking about she and Fox. How did they know? Had she said it in her sleep? Had Lily been in the bathroom and overheard her? Had Fox told them all one night? Did Troy know? Was he waiting for her to tell him? She squeezed her eyes shut. _No. This is not happening. No one was supposed to know. _Not that she was ashamed, per say. It was just the whole they-are-related thing that made her feel kind of trashy. It made her think of that old phrase, "A well fed dog never strays far from the porch." And that's what made her want to keep it a secret. She didn't want Troy thinking less of her. She didn't know if she could handle it. She took a step closer to her phone as Lily pulled open the purple curtain, revealing her body loosely wrapped in a pink dress. Only she could wear a non-body conscious dress and make it look sexy.

"Find the dress you want already?" She asked casually, as if she hadn't just been talking about her five seconds prior. Sharpay watched her toss her dark hair over her shoulder as she examined her flawless reflection in the three-fold mirror. Sharpay avoided eye contact as she quickly grabbed her phone. She pressed the Home button to check for any messaged but was met with a picture of Troy's face. She swallowed hard and decided she was going to tell him. She had to- especially now that she knew someone else knew. And she was almost positive there were more people who knew. Jason could be one of them. And that thought made her very uncomfortable. But... was she man enough to risk her relationship with Troy?

"Yeah." Sharpay answered, to both Lily and her conscience. "I think so."

/

Had she told him on Tuesday at dinner after shopping? No she had not. Wednesday at the gym? Nope. Thursday at lunch? No sir. And now it was Friday, and everyone was at Vince's family's sprawling Connecticut property, inside his beautiful house, dancing to DJ'ed beats and drinking beverages made specially by Tom the bartender. She had reluctantly let Martha use Troy's bank account pay for her dress, but refused to let him pay for the shoes, knowing full well that the shoes sometimes cost half as much as the dress did. She'd been allowed to raid some of the closets of Hale, after classes that afternoon, and had found a pair of fuchsia pumps in Brooke's closet that complimented her gold sequins nicely. They were at least an inch higher than her highest pair of heels. If she wasn't so constantly distracted by dancing with Troy, or thinking about her secret, or thinking about Lily and Martha knowing, or meeting people from other boarding schools at the party, or everything else going on that night, she would probably have been in a lot of pain. And alcohol didn't make walking in them any easier.

It was a solid three hours into the Post Thanksgiving Celebration and she and Troy had just pulled each other off the dance floor at the end of 'Like a G6'. He needed another drink, or 'more alco-fuel', as Jason had referred to the consumption of mixed drinks all night. "Want anything?" He asked, a smile on his face that made Sharpay want to cry from guilt. She smiled back and shook her head, "I'm good."

Troy lifted their still-clasped hands and kissed her knuckles once before letting them go and turning towards the bar about ten steps behind him. She felt a tap on her shoulder. Faye and her olive and black lace Pucci dress stood in front of her. Or maybe it was Felicia. They were harder to discern from each other than Ashley and Mary Kate. Wrapped around her waist waist was the arm of Patrick Boyd. His cropped brown hair uncharacteristically askew unlike their first meeting at Serafina's. The collar on his dark blue polo was popped on one side, which made him slightly resemble Jason. She handed her a short, clear glass filled with clear alcohol, ice, and a large strawberry. "Here Shar, I can't drink and dance simultaneously. It's dangerous."

Sharpay looked down at the glass and then back up into her blue eyes. She smiled, "Polish vodka and strawberries."

"Promise we didn't spike it, Blondie." Patrick grinned and Sharpay laughed, letting go if only for that mere second. "I'll take your word for it."

As he tugged the Foster into the hoard of wealthy dancing youth, she turned back towards the bar where Troy was standing, now talking to an copper-haired beauty in a similar Emilio Pucci creation. The second Foster threw her head back laughing at something Troy said. She touched his chest and it made reminded Sharpay that the two of them had made out at one point. The thought made her uncomfortable. She took in a large breath, lifting the drink to her mouth and taking a swig of whatever it was she had been given.

"Where's your boy?"

Sharpay nodded her head in Troy's direction. "Talking to Felicia... At least I think it's Felicia."

"No, you're right." Fox affirmed, coming to settle on her left side. "Felicia."

Sharpay tilted her head slightly, examining her. "How can you tell?"

"Years of practice. Don't worry, you'll get it." Sharpay could feel Fox staring at her, but she was too much of a wimp to look him in the eye. It was too confusing. It was too real. It brought back memories she was both happy about and ashamed of. She took the strawberry out of the glass and took a bite. Fox asked a question, but it came out as more of a statement, "You haven't told him?"

She chewed thoughtfully for a few seconds, and then frowned as she swallowed. "I wouldn't even know how."

"He's going to find out eventually. And as uncomfortable as it might be, I think he'd prefer to hear it from you."

"What makes you think that?" She asked, finishing off whatever was left in the glass. SHe turned and placed it on the closest thing she could find, which happened to be table showcasing photographs of what she guessed were of his mother and father in various locations around the globe. None of them contained Vince, however, which Sharpay almost found sad. She would have felt bad leaving the glass there if there weren't already a hoard of them on the other side of the frames.

"Because he feels really..." Fox started, and Sharpay turned to look at him. _What? Feels really what?_ He shook his head softly twice. "Just trust trust me. We're blood." She bit her lip, unsure. "I promise, Blondie."

He held out his pinky, grinning his perfect Murray grin that was impossible for anyone not to find completely magnetic. His promising sincerity was enough to get her to smile back. She linked her pinky with his, realizing that it didn't give her the same ping of heat his touch had given her back in Hawaii. She took that as a good sign. He lifted their fingers, kissing hers lightly, as Troy had only moments ago. Was it a family thing?

"Love seeing the pinky promise in action." Felicia chirped, holding Troy at her side with intertwined fingers. He had a small cup half-filled with a pink beverage in his right hand, looking surprisingly happier than normal when he saw she and his cousin together. Sharpay stared for a moment, smiled, and pulled her finger away. If that's what she looked like to Troy holding hands with someone else, she'd rather not.

"I'll trade you, Leesh." She nodded at Troy.

"Of course!" The red-head replied, trading spots with her. Her blue eyes met Troy's momentarily and she raised an eyebrow. Sharpay looked up to catch Fox's response, but he was already looking down at her, smiling as Troy reached for her. Sharpay took in his everything-is-going-to-be-alright demeanor as cue that maybe it would be. She stepped towards Troy and took his drink from his hand. He didn't need to be drinking anything pink, anyway. It took away from his suave James Bond-Alpha Male factor. This had nothing to do with the truth that should would have to tell Troy. And that it would probably be told tonight. She barely winced as she downed the drink. The burn was nothing compared to the searing thoughts. She had to give Tom props, though. She could barely taste alcohol in any of the drinks- but judging the behavior of everyone in the house, it was clearly there.

"Thirsty?" Troy asked. Sharpay ignored the question, still trying to focus on his cousin's reassurance. It was working- very slowly. She put the drink down on the same table as the others and Felicia giggled. "Clearly."

"For your benefit." Sharpay flashed a smile and snuck her arms around Troy. The alcohol made her dizzy. "I mean a pink drink? We don't want people thinking you've gone girly on them..."

"Me go girly?" He sounded almost offended. "That'll happen when Gabriella has a plate of pancakes for breakfast."

"What is with her phobia of carbs?" Felicia shook her head and motioned with the hand her drink was in. If it weren't half empty it probably would have spilled onto her patchwork-esque Pucci mini. "If I couldn't eat chocolate chip pancakes I would be such a miserable person."

"Well, have you met Gabriella?" Fox added. "She may chose to mask it with a bitch facade, but that girl is not a happy camper."

"I can think of more reasons as to why." Sharpay mumbled. Troy squeezed his arm around her. "Don't worry about her."

Felicia took a sip. "Troy's right. She's all talk, no action."

Fox nodded, "Agreed. To be honest, I'm not sure why Lily thought she was Head Junior material. I would have guessed Kelsi."

"Maybe even Martha."

"Yeah, but Martha is-"

Sharpay tuned out of their conversation, looking up at Troy. "I have to tell you something."

He was still grinning as he looked away from his cousin and his friend and down to her. "What's that?"

"Someplace quiet, maybe?"

"Sure." He answered, without question, sliding his arm down, entangling their fingers before working around the edge of the crowd. A new song was starting but no one paused to take a breath. Ashanti's voice was vibrating through the speakers. In passing, Sharpay saw Lily and her voluminously waved hair dancing in sync with James. She saw Martha and then Jason and then Nolan and then Kelsi but a certain brunette seemed to be missing. Gabriella was probably outside getting air. She didn't really seem like she'd be big on partying, anyway. A few feet away from the crowd of dancers and throbbing music was the door Troy led her into. It looked like a second, small living room. There were large windows overlooking the dark backyard and a few pieces of baroque furniture assembled around an unlit fireplace. When he shut the door behind them the light went on and the music dimmed considerably, but not enough to leave Sharpay alone with her thoughts. Good. That was the last thing she wanted. Her mind was a battle field of confusion right now and she just wanted to tell Troy the basics and get it over with. _But look at him in his cute t-shirt,_ Sharpay thought. She couldn't destroy the happiness that was on his face right now. She was not going to let herself be the one who possibly turned it into a frown.

She'd tell him later...

"Kiss me."

His smile widening slightly. He almost laughed, "Is that what you had to tell me?"

She raised an eyebrow in challenge. "Are you protesting?"

His grin slowly morphed into a smirk as he stepped closer to her. He slid a hand over her dress and leaned his face towards hers. Ah, Troy's face. "Never."

She smiled, swirling the black type on his shirt as she took a soft fist-full of the white cotton, pulling him into her. There was something about kissing Troy that made her feel like it was the first time every time. She felt like their lips hadn't touched in ages, even though it had probably only been minutes. _Don't think about it, Sharpay, enjoy the moment_. Luckily Troy's hands slid around her when they did because her mind was going back to that place. She refocused on the music playing in the background. _And if I couldn't have you, I would probably go insane..._ It was mood music. And Sharpay was forcing herself to stay in the mood. She pulled Troy closer, her arms wrapping around his neck and up through his hair. She felt him shiver as she pulled back for a breath.

"You know," He started, kissing the corner of her mouth. "With our record," And then her jaw. "Someone will probably walk in..." And then below her ear, "in about twenty seconds."

"We'll have to start working faster then." She took a step, pulling him with her towards the luxury couch with too many accent pillows. They made for a comfortable backrest, though. And Troy made for a wonderful kisser. She tried to ignore the fact that she kind of wished someone would walk in. Maybe Fox could walk in. He could walk in and tell Troy for her. But then, would Troy be mad she didn't tell him herself? He probably already knew. He knew and was waiting for her to say it out loud. To admit it.

She held the side of Troy's face in attempt to turn off her brain. But it was too late. The dam had been broken. Fox's reassuring smile was gone. It was all flooding back into her mind. It was him and her and his hotel room and her hotel room and her bikini strings were getting loose and his arms were tightening around her and Sharpay couldn't breathe anymore. She placed her hand directly in the center of Troy's chest and pushed him away. He looked concerned. She wanted to cry as she hurried to move away from the couch, pulling her dress straight haphazardly. "Sharpay, what's wrong?"

The genuine concern in his voice made her feel like a snake was wrapped around her lungs. "I think I just… need a drink. Like water or…" she trailed off, moving towards the door, running a hand through her hair. She hadn't even realized that Troy was following after her. He caught her, using his concerned voice. "I'll get it, it's fine."

"No really, it's not a-"

"Sharpay," He interrupted, catching her arm and looking into her eyes. She wanted to die. She wanted to die right there. "Just sit. I'll be right back… Okay?"

She couldn't speak. She wanted to but she couldn't. Too many things were going through her mind at once and she couldn't handle them in the midst of her alcohol and party induced buzz. She nodded pathetically as Troy gave her once last dubious glance before turning around. Should she tell him? She wanted to. She needed to. Not telling was killing her. She wasn't going to able to function properly until it was out in the open. Even if it hurt. Hurt them. Hurt _Troy_. The mere idea made her want to sew her own mouth shut. But she couldn't keep secrets from Troy. He had the right to know. He _had_ to know. She had to tell him. She had to tell him right now. Before he left the room. Before she lost her nerve. Before she-

"I slept with your cousin."

/

Troy's re-closed the door. Hand still on the doorknob. He stared down at the brass, feeling the pulsations of the stereo's bass coming from the other side. Something in his chest tightened. Like he'd been pricked with a needle. Or two. Or thirty. He tried to take a full breath but his lungs wouldn't expand all the way. He knew it. He knew it, he knew it, he knew it. He let go of the door and circled around to face Sharpay, who hadn't moved a centimeter. Her hand was clasped firmly over her mouth and her cocoa eyes were cast down at the floor. After a few seconds of silence they made their up to meet his own and her other hand covered her mouth as well. Her eyes looked glassy like she was about to cry and despite what she just said, all he wanted to do was hug her. He shook his head slowly, trying to formulate something useful to say. Before he could even get a word out, she turned around and walked over to the wall. She leaned her forehead against it, back completely to Troy. She looked like she was putting herself in time out. Troy didn't know what else to do. He couldn't help himself. He laughed.

Maybe it was because he'd been expecting it. Maybe it was because he'd had too many drinks. Maybe it was because it took so long for him to find out. Or maybe it was because she even bothered to tell him at all. Sharpay turned around, clearly incredulous by the look on her face. If she had been about to cry four seconds ago, there was no sign of it now. This was when he realized he was still laughing. "Please. Explain the humor."

"I'm not sure there is any."

Her eyebrows furrowed even further. "Laughter normally ensues humor."

"I don't think there's anything funny about you and Fox having... _intimate relations_."

"Intimate relations? Tell me you've never had sex before, Troy." Troy's jaw clenched together. Sharpay noticed. She took a few steps towards him. "That's what I thought."

She intentionally brushed shoulders with him as she strode past. He caught her wrist gently and turned with her. "Woah woah, how did this become about me?"

"When Fox became your cousin."

"Sorry, I can't really change that."

"I'm not asking you to- _ugh_." She grunted, tilting her head back into the air, swaying a little on her heels. Troy felt like he should say something. But what would be appropriate? _Hey, you had sex with my cousin, but don't worry, it's not weird_? He decided to stay silent. She let out a breath and looked back at his face. He watched her eyes go back and forth between his left and right, as if she didn't know which one she wanted to look at. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say."

"That makes two of us." He replied honestly.

"I don't like him or anything." She said quickly. "Murr- _Fox_, I mean."

"That hadn't crossed my mind."

Who did he think he was fooling?

"It was just..." She shook her head and bit her lip before turning and walking back over to the couch. She sat down and leaned back, playing with her hands on her lap. Should he sit next to her? It's not like she was suddenly diseased. Just because he had so many emotions running through his brain didn't mean he couldn't act human. His silence probably wasn't helping the situation any further. He walked around her legs and took a seat, watching her fingers move. "What can I say?"

He shrugged internally. It wasn't every day you found yourself in this sort of situation. "Are you sure."

It came out more like a statement than a question. Sharpay turned her head slightly, looking down at his jeans. "About what?"

"If you like Fox... you can tell me."

"I don't." She said simply. "I might have at some point, I don't know. But currently, no. I don't have feelings for him. I don't have feelings for anybody anymore... anybody but you."

Finally, he turned his head to look at her. Why did she have to be so adorable? Why did her lips have to be so glossy? Why did he have to have such an intimidating cousin? "You're sure?"

She lifted her eyes. Her perfect, sincere, brown eyes. "Cross my heart, Troy."

He tried smiling softly. He didn't want Sharpay to think he was mad at her, because he wasn't. He was confused and uncomfortable and a little bit vulnerable but he was not mad. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I said I'm-"

"No, I heard," She said, shaking her head. "I just don't understand what you could possibly be apologizing for."

"For being jealous." Sharpay blushed, her blonde hair falling in front of her face. "I mean, it's not like you're jealous of Tiara."

That's what _he_ thought.

"You're not mad, right?"

"What's there to be mad about?" Troy asked. "It's not like we were dating when it happened."

"True." She mumbled. A few seconds passed before she looked over at him and added, "But, we're okay?"

Troy smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear. He let his hand linger for a moment, cupping her jaw softly to press his lips against hers. When he was certain that it would be, he pulled back, taking his hand with him. "We're okay."

They sat like that for a while and Troy didn't mind it. He was still trying to process whatever the hell she had just told him. He'd try to forget it all later. He listened to the noise on the other side of the door. He faintly heard Jason's voice yelling over the music. "So uh..." Sharpay started. "How many times have you..." She was fiddling with her bracelet. "I mean... did you and Tiara have..."

"Just once." There was silence. Troy scratched the back of his neck. "...you and Fox?"

Sharpay coughed awkwardly. "Four or five..."

Was she serious? Troy focused on the wallpaper across from him. This wasn't going to be awkward. This was not. Going. To be. Awkward. Suddenly the concept of hard liquor sounded extremely appealing. "Want a drink?"

She almost jumped off of the couch. "Yes. Please."


	28. Special Delivery

Slightly late, I know. Bad author. Bad.

* * *

"At least you told him. I mean, most girls wouldn't have bothered to... And I doubt they'd feel guilty about it."

Sharpay was leaning against the wall near the door she and Troy had just exited moments before. In actuality it had been longer, but after the truth was set free time seemed to slow down for her. Her gold dress shimmered as the disco balls- where Vince, or whoever decorated his house for the party, found all of them was beyond her- cast multicolored light around the perimeter. She should feel better after telling Troy the truth about she and his cousin. And in truth, she did. But that didn't mean she couldn't still feel a little awkward about it. I mean... they'd move past it, sure... but it wouldn't be in two seconds. She looked up at Fox, his ever-present smirk showing faint signs of sympathy. His head tilted ever so slightly, "But then again, you're not like most girls."

She mustered up a smile, "I think that much has been established."

"And Troy's not like most guys."

"Also common knowledge," Sharpay replied, tucking blonde hair behind her ear as she looked over at Troy, who was talking to Jason over by the bar. Back leaning against the wood, practically sensing her gaze, he turned his head slightly and his eyes met hers. She held her breath. _Why isn't he smiling? He always smiles_. Then the corner of his lip turned up and Sharpay released the pressure of her lungs, smiling back. She just needed to relax. Everything was fine.

"You know what isn't common knowledge?" Fox asked. She turned back to look at him, eyebrow raised. "Whether or not you and he have..."

Sharpay opened her mouth and closed it again. _Had sex_? That was the clear ending to that sentence. Of course they hadn't. How was that not common knowledge with the fact he or Jason or his maid seemed to walk in any time the thought even crossed her mind? She shook her head and snuck another glance over at Troy. "No."

"No?" He sounded shocked.

"Surprised?"

"I'm not the only one."

What was that supposed to mean? "Do people..."

"Talk about it?" He finished, gauging her reaction for a moment before shrugging a shoulder. "It's been brought up."

"By who?" Sharpay asked, extremely intrigued.

Fox looked over at his shoulder, only a few people remained on the dance floor now. The DJ had changed the song to a remixed version of Right Thru Me and, despite the change in tempo, the mood had significantly slowed in the moment. People coupled up and others left to find a new activity. She caught a glimpse of Kelsi and Ryan and wondered how such a nice guy like Ryan ended up with such a girl. Not that Kelsi didn't have her nice moments, but she was always on her cell phone or with Gabriella or talking about some random designer's go-see like she was better than everyone. But right now, watching the two of them, her SideKick-less hands around his neck and cheek pressed onto his shoulder, she felt like she understood. She looked back at Fox's greyish eyes, already looking at her. "Jason says you haven't."

She rolled her eyes, "Of course he does."

"But James is skeptical due to your constant togetherness."

"Well... we haven't." Fox smirked. Sharpay's lips turned downward, "Why is that so hard to believe? Is it assumed that I'd sleep with him just because he's gorgeous? Just because his muscles compare to that of Achilles? Just because his eyes-"

"Sharpay." He laughed.

"Sorry." She apologized, waving a hand. "Alcohol. No filter."

"Enough alcohol to dance with me?"

"Yes." She replied, feeling better as Fox tugged her backwards with a pleasant smile on his face. She was nervous about the fact that Troy was probably watching their movements, but he would have to accept the fact that she and his cousin were friends. Friends danced. Friends touched. Friends talked. She just had to keep reminding herself that it went the same both ways.

She slid her arms around his neck, "And for the record, I'd have danced with you sober."

/

"At least she told you, right?" Jason asked. "Tiara probably wouldn't have."

"True." Troy acknowledged, trying to tear his eyes away from Fox and Sharpay's bodies. Tiara probably would have settled for telling Gabriella, or maybe Lily. Who would tell Angela, who would tell her brother, who would tell Jason, who wouldn't have been able to resist telling him. Then again, Jason had known about Sharpay and Fox and hadn't told. Weren't best friends supposed to share things like that? Secrets secrets are no fun.

"So what's the problem? Thanks, man." Jason added, picking up a shot glass of vodka as Tom set two in front of him. He handed it to Troy before picking up the second.

Troy looked back at his friend and his dark green eyes, taking the shot. "There isn't one."

"Your envious glances say otherwise," he smirked, clinking glasses with them. The two simultaneously downed the alcohol, making a face at its flavor. Troy looked down at the empty cup, placing it on top of the bar. "You understand how it's weird, don't you?"

"Aiden went around kissing everyone, bro." He set the glass down, his face briefly unenthusiastic at the mention of his older brother. "I'm used to it."

Troy gave him a clap on the arm. "You're a strong soul."

Jason laughed and shrugged his arm off. "Would you like a little advice? Something I've learned to help heal the wounds?"

Troy grinned, "Do tell."

"When in doubt, make out. No-fail system."

"I can't tell if that was Jason or the Chopin talking."

He shrugged and took a look at the glass vodka had momentarily occupied, smirking. "I'd venture a little bit of both."

"So, you're saying I pull Sharpay off into a dark corner and everything will be all right again?"

"Well... No... It can be in public." Troy gave him a face and Jason started laughing again. "I'm just kidding, Romeo. Take Mexico into a room and do your thing. Hell, better yet, just look at her and she'll melt and forget the whole thing."

Troy mulled the idea over in his head. If only it could be that easy. Then again, maybe it could be. It'd never been a problem for the two of them to fit into each other's arms before. For them to partake in this no-fail system. And right now the mention of being with Sharpay sounded so deliciously tempting.

"Let's go." Jason interrupted his thoughts, an empty bottle suddenly in his hands. Tom had probably handed one over when he while Troy was daydreaming about Sharpay's lips. "A game of Spin the Bottle always helps break the ice."

"Alright people, gather around!" He announced over the voice of Nicki Minaj. He held the bottle over his head by the neck, showing people what was about to go on.

Troy followed, thankful to see Sharpay and Fox break apart with the distraction. He'd had enough of his cousins hands around Sharpay's back. The blonde found her way over to him. With a small smile on her face she found his hand and kissed his cheek without effort due to the skyscraper heels that Troy decided she had definitely borrowed. He grinned to himself. He didn't know what she and Fox had been talking about, but he was suddenly thankful for his cousin's persuasive words.

"You just want to make sure you get some action tonight, Cross." Lindsay smirked, sitting back on her heels- the only way to sit for each of the girls in their mini dresses.

"First time is lips, second time is tongue, third time means seven in heaven, does everyone agree to adhere to these terms?" Jason announced to the circle of thirteen who had formed around him. He sat down in between Lindsay and Martha as if he knew for sure that no one was going to bother arguing the rules with him. "Vincent, you're the man of the house, you have the honors."

Vince took the frosted vodka bottle from Jason as he took the spot between Lily and Sharpay. Troy shook his head and laughed to himself. Leave it to Jason to choose a vodka bottle over a beer bottle like a normal person. A quick glance around the circle of friends calmed Troy's worries of Sharpay getting uncomfortable. She knew everyone sitting around the bottle so there wouldn't be any chance of her kissing a stranger. Not that he wanted her kissing anyone she _knew_ other than him in the first place. Every other party attendee was either still dancing, already passed out, or off making out in one of the Gati's many rooms and corridors.

The bottle spun three, five, seven times before landing on Kelsi, who sat conveniently next to her boyfriend. While Kelsi and Vince leaned forward to meet in the middle, Troy snuck a glance at Ryan, who had taken the opportunity to look at his cell phone. He didn't blame Ryan for not wanting to watch. Even watching Sharpay hug another guy made him feel weird. Ryan continued looking down at his phone, texting until after Kelsi had spun and she'd had to kiss James. Lily, however didn't look fazed in the least when James kissed Katelyn Boyd. Nor did Katelyn's boyfriend Alex. Troy briefly wondered where his brother Nolan was. Probably off necking his sort-of girlfriend Ryleigh. Which made him wonder why he and Sharpay weren't off alone right now instead of waiting for the bottle to land on either of them. Oh. That's right. Fox.

Katelyn tucked her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear as she sat back into her position after having to kiss Jason, who looked pleased with himself. He seemed to enjoy this game more than anyone. But who could blame him. It was his nature. Jason ran his fingers through up through his hair, his hair still locked into fohawk position despite the fact his styling product had come out ages ago- albeit a much less composed version. He spun the bottle. "And the lucky lady is..."

"Of course." Sharpay let out as the bottle stopped, pointing directly at her.

"Take two?" Martha asked, most likely in reference to Jason's attempt to kiss Sharpay back on her first day of school. Sharpay held back a smirk and rolled her eyes as she leaned forward over the bottle. Jason narrowed his eyes, a few inches from her face. "You gonna play nice this time?"

"I will if you do." She replied, and Troy assumed he did for the four seconds it took to lean forward, kiss, and pull back. Sharpay took the bottle back with her as she sat back onto her legs, Jason and his green eyes smirking across the circle. Troy didn't like the smirk very much. He knew what it felt like to kiss Sharpay. How irresistible it was. "Not bad, Mexico. No wonder Troy always wants to neck you."

"Shut _up_, Jason." She blushed, spinning the bottle as Martha backhanded Jason in the chest. He looked over at her, feigning pain. "What was that for?"

She pulled her hand back. "Troy's your best friend."

He touched his chest, "You feel the need to abuse people before making obvious statements?"

"You know what I mean." She rolled her hazel eyes.

"It was a _compliment._"

"You only compliment yourself."

"Not true."

"So true."

"I compliment you all the-"

"Really guys?" Troy asked, and the two of them looked across to him. "You've started this game up again?"

"Don't know what you're talking about." Martha replied, chin length hair covering a grin while she looked down at the bottle that had slowed down.

"Me neither..." Jason trailed off, eyes going wide as he followed the bottle to whom the neck was pointing at. He looked over at Troy. "But this game looks far more interesting."

Troy squinted at the joke he really didn't understand, following his gaze down to the bottle and up to the recipient of Sharpay's kiss. His breath caught in his throat. And this was supposed to break the ice? Sharpay sat next to him, lips sucked in as she looked almost guiltily at Fox. Fox looked away from her and at Troy. He raised an eyebrow as if to say, _You alright with this?_

Troy tilted his chin down. _Do I have a choice?_

Watching Fox kiss Sharpay was even harder than watching her kiss Jason and yet he couldn't look away. Maybe it was just that he knew they'd done this before. It was like a car crash inside of his head. He knew it was horrible but he couldn't look away. This must have been what Ryan was avoiding but not watching Kelsi take her turn. But maybe Fox understood this, because the kiss seemed to last even longer than Jason's. She was back at his side, avoiding his gaze for a few moments. Across the way, Fox spun the bottle and she finally looked over at him. She touched his leg lightly and he appreciated the attempt until he saw the bottle slow down. And land on Sharpay. Again. She retracted her hand and looked across at his cousin. Troy decided he definitely was _not_ watching this time.

He felt bad for being so guilty. And he probably looked like a real baby right then. But honestly, those two had already had sex. And Fox was more alluring than he was. And it was very intimidating. He'd tuned himself out of the game completely, eyes blurring out as he stared at nothing in particular. The sound of a whistle made him come to. He looked over at Jason to see why he had made the noise. The brunette inclined his head down at the bottle, which Sharpay had already spun. For the third time. And everyone knew what that meant. Troy's head shook involuntarily as the bottle beckoned at Fox. _No_. There would be no seven minutes in heaven for these two. They'd had seven million back in Maui.

"What the hell is this? The Kiss Sharpay Show?" Gabriella whined, trying to nonchalantly toss her brunette curls over her shoulder.

"You'll get your turn, Montez. Relax." Lindsay soothed.

Sharpay reached back for the bottle. "I'm spinning again."

"Are we forgetting the rules?" Gabriella asked, an incriminating smirk on her face. Even Jason didn't bother to fight Sharpay on it. And he was all for following the rules of games like these. Troy was going to have to remember to thank him for that tomorrow. The blonde shrugged a shoulder. "I'm taken. It'd be inappropriate."

Taken. By him. Troy wanted to grab her and kiss her. Passionately. Sharpay spun the bottle and looked up at Fox. "You don't mind, do you?"

He smirked. "Why would I want seven minutes with my cousin's girl? Gross."

She smiled back at him and Troy let out a major sigh of relief. Thank god his cousin wasn't a total asshole. Thank god the bottle also decided to land on someone other than him for a change, beckoning Ryan this time. The only uncomfortable thing about them two kissing was that they would be kissing right in front of Troy and Kelsi. Which, you know, wasn't awkward at all. Sharpay exchanged a smirk with Ryan before they kissed and Troy was just happy that she was done kissing for the night. Well, besides himself. He hoped.

Kelsi, unlike her boyfriend, didn't even flinch when Ryan had to lean across and kiss Lily. Though Troy could have sworn she had stolen a glance up at him. Lily spun the bottle, tilting her head as it slowed, as if contemplating who it would land on. Troy watched it stop directly in front of him and he lifted his eyes to meet Lily. She raised an eyebrow and he shook his head, their silent language going unnoticed. This time it was Sharpay that would have to watch. And he knew what it felt like. And he was probably the only boy in the world who would ever feel bad for having to kiss Lily Moore and her ridiculously smooth lips.

"Not bad, Bolton." The raven-haired beauty's compliment rolled off her tongue smoothly as she held out the empty vodka bottle.

"And I don't get a compliment?" Ryan scoffed. Lily eyed him playfully.

Troy took the bottle from her hand, smirking, and he caught Sharpay look down at her lap self-consciously. He transferred the bottle to his left hand and slid his right under her hair and around her neck; her head pivoted towards his as his his lips leaned towards her ear. "She only gets a sample. You have the entire entree."

Not his best metaphor.

She shivered as he planted a kiss near her ear. Seated three bodies to his left, Kelsi cleared her throat. "Those too insecure to play should not have joined the circle."

He could hear Gabriella stifle a snicker from across the way, which gave Troy the strong impulse to start making out with Sharpay right there. Just to silence her. He pulled away, leaning forward to reach into the middle of the open space and give the bottle a solid spin. He eyed it carefully, wondering if there was any cosmic possibility that it would land on Sharpay. So far no couple- besides Sharpay and Fox, which Troy dismissed as a couple altogether- had gotten each other as a partner. Assuming Sharpay wasn't a possibility, he scanned the circle quickly. Lily... no one in their right mind would mind kissing Lily. Martha wouldn't be bad at all, though it'd probably feel like kissing his sister if he had one. Lindsey sort of fell into the same realm as Lily, except maybe a lower phylum. Gabriella was Gabriella. And would delight in the activity much more than an appropriate amount. Kissing Katelyn Boyd would feel like a sister-kiss even more so than Martha. He'd practically grown up with her and her brother. And then Kelsi, who Troy had kissed before in a past game of Spin the Bottle, wouldn't have been bad. Much better than Gabriella. So basically, as long as it didn't land on Gabriella, he was going to be fine and everything was going to work out. He let out a breath, watching as the bottle slowly but surely stopped, its neck pointing defiantly at-

/

Sharpay's eyes went wide. _No_. No no no.

No.

Not real.

Not happening.

It did not just land on-

/

Gabriella's entire body warmed up as she held back the smile threatening to light up her face. So what if this night had once more turned into an episode of The Sharpay Show? It was her turn now. Time to change the channel. Troy looked up at her with those enticing blue eyes of his. Not everything was back to normal yet. So this was either going to be very awkward or very enjoyable for her. Screw awkwardness. She'd enjoy it. Troy glanced over at Sharpay momentarily, back at the bottle and then back to Gabriella. She pulled at the hem of her metallic cocktail dress as he leaned forward. She made a point to note the defined muscle in his arm.

Yum.

She made sure to savor every single second of this moment. She breathed in, looked down at his lips, looked back to his eyes. One second. They inched closer, he eyed her carefully, her heart may or may not have stopped. Two seconds. She closed her eyes, he closed his. Three seconds. His lips pressed against hers, she fell into a state of bliss. Four and a half seconds. He pulled away, bliss depleted. Five seconds. She opened her eyes and saw Troy's narrowed suspiciously, almost amused. "And you said you were over me."

"_I am_." Gabriella whispered, though she clearly wasn't fooling him.

"Riiiight."

"Do you have to be so arrogant?"

"Do you have to be so obvious?"

"Obvious?" She repeated, scoffing at the word.

"Jealous." Troy suggested. Both of them were still on their hands, putting on a show for the people in the surrounding audience. Bet Barbie was getting a real kick out of this. Blonde bitch. Troy examined her face for the reaction, and she could do nothing but stare into his gorgeous blue eyes. "Or however you'd like to phrase it... that even after three years you still feel more in a forced kiss than I ever will."

There were two gasps (one came from behind Troy, giving Gabriella no doubt that it came from Barbie), four dropped jaws, and a lot of raised eyebrows as Gabriella let her hand fly right across Troy's face. A thousand pins stung her hand as its mark formed on his left cheek. His head was forced sideways by the impact, and she watched helplessly as he made eye contact with Jason, then Martha, and then James- who looked extremely more irritated than the first two. Lily, on the other hand, looked calm apart from the storm raging behind her sapphire eyes. And everyone knew that's when she was the most dangerous. She could practically hear her hissing her name out of her raspberry Stila covered lips.

"She's had too much to drink." Kelsi offered in defense of her friend, something Gabriella was very thankful for. It wasn't extremely true, though, as she had only had about three drinks in four hours.

"We all know she isn't big on drinking. She just thinks that because she and I are in parallel positions I should be dating her and not-" Gabriella's jaw locked as she lifted her hand once more. His hand caught her wrist a mere two inches before it once again hit his face. If she wasn't so pissed off she would have been thrilled that he was touching her. But his blue eyes were serious and his voice was husky. "You're _really_ going to have to stop doing that."

She looked over his shoulder, at Albuquerque and her stupid surprised face. The blonde shook her head as Troy's grasp released her arm. She pulled her arm back, knowing exactly who she wanted to slap next. Her chocolate brown eyes went back to Troy, who was in the midst of standing up. No... no no no... She had to fix this. She had to make it better. "Troy, I-"

"Gabriella." He interrupted, clearly pissed off by his public feuding. She knew Troy didn't like fighting with anyone. And she knew that he rarely, if ever, used this harsh, admittedly sexy, tone of voice. "Enough."

"But-"

"I think we've had enough for tonight, wouldn't you agree?" Lily placed her order in question form but everyone got the hint. Troy caught her glance for a moment before standing up. He held out a hand for Sharpay, which she took. Gabriella was fuming. She looked across the circle at Jason, who shook his head slowly before standing up and walking off. She rolled her own eyes and stood up. She walked directly to the back of the house and out the door onto a dimly lit patio area. Her exposed skin fought to stay warm against the freezing night air. Across the way, she could see people making their way into the guest house to sleep. Or... not sleep.

"I can only cover for your dramatic outbursts if you give me at least a few minutes of warning. Improv was Tiara's strong point, not mine."

"I'll take it that's why your attempt sucked majorly." She mumbled, arms crossed as she addressed Kelsi coming up behind her.

"What the fuck was I supposed to say?" She asked, booties clicking against the patio. "Troy was being a dick?"

"No." _He could never be a dick, _she added silently.

"Then stop complaining. I tried."

"_Ugh_, they're just so infuriating. The two of them as a pair." She spun around, brunette curls whipping through the air. She decided to ignore Kelsi saying that she 'tried'. Kelsi didn't try. She pathetically attempted. "I'm telling you, Troy never acted this way before she came here. He and I were close and now she's just... she's jealous of our relationship and determined to make sure I don't spend time with him."

"I think you're ruining your chances of spending time with him all by yourself." Kelsi said plainly, eyes down at her SideKick. The green irises flashed up to meet her brown ones. "Don't look at me like that, you know it's true."

Her eyes narrowed. "I know nothing of the sort."

"You're a bad liar."

"And you're a bad friend." The second the retort came out Gabriella wished she could take it back. Kelsi's eyes seared through her like a knife through warm butter. "Kels-"

"What the fuck is up with you? Forget to refill your Prozac prescription?"

Gabriella gritted her teeth. The fact that her psychiatrist mother placed her on antidepressants was never supposed to be brought up in conversation. Not ever. Let alone in a public venue. "My dosage is _just fine_, thank you."

"Then explain," Kelsi ordered, snapping her phone shut as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Because, to be quite honest, you're being a real bitch lately... more so than usual."

"It's all _her_ fault."

"Who? Blondie?"

"Yes. I don't see what's so great about her. She irritates me to the point where I'm tempted to tie her to a chair and push her into Vince's pool."

Kelsi's professionally sculpted eyebrows furrowed. "I know you just downed a martini or two, but murder is a little harsh, don't you think?"

"As if her puppy Troy would let that happen." Gabriella looked off into the backyard of the Gati residence. The pool lay motionless, waiting for Sharpay's stupid tanned body wrapped in a stupid designer dress to be pushed in. She could dress up all she wanted, but that would never mean she belonged in this world. At Eastwood. She'd never get into an Ivy. She'd never have a personal shopper or a home in Aspen. Then again, Gabriella had neither of those things either... But she had class. She had to work to get where she was. Sharpay just popped up and had everything handed to her. It wasn't right and it certainly wasn't fair. Kelsi didn't know the meaning of the word harsh.

But she'd see soon enough.

/

"We'll be back to school tomorrow morning." Troy said as he pushed the door to the guest room shut. Sharpay looked around the large room. Vince called _this_ a guest room? How large was the master suite? The room was at the far end of the house, giving two walls in the room space for large windows. There were multiple chairs, tables with orchids, an unlit fireplace and a large painting hanging above the bed. The room was nicer than her entire house back in Albuquerque. Okay, maybe she was exaggerating just a little. "Though, with all the hangovers it'll probably be more like late afternoon.

"You mean I have to sleep in this dress?" Sharpay asked, hands pulling her hair back into a ponytail at the back of her head. A gold mini wasn't exactly her choice in sleepwear.

Troy shrugged a shoulder, smirking. "You could always take it off."

She looked over at him, pulling her hair through once more before dropping her hands to her either side of her waist. Trying to mask the fact that she wasn't exactly offended by his words. "Alcohol really amplifies your hormones, huh? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"

"Not necessarily." He said, taking a step towards her. His hands found the small of her waist and she moved her hands to his arms as he pulled her inward. She felt the muscles constrict subconsciously and bit the inside of her cheek. He looked down at her with a clear desire in his perfect blue eyes. Maybe it was just the alcohol. Then again she'd had a fair amount as well, and she acted like this anyway. She squeezed his arms lightly in acknowledgement to their glory as he locked them around her body. "I don't like seeing you kiss other guys."

"Funny, I was just about to say the same to you." She grinned, enjoying the slight look of boyish possession on his face.

"Speaking of Spin the Bottle..." She started, lifting a hand to the place where Gabriella's handprint was just barely visible. "What was all this about?" Sharpay had gasped the second the brunette's hand had made contact. Wasn't she like... in love with him or something? And that's why the girl had basically threatened Sharpay's life? She had an odd way of showing it.

"Gabriella being Gabriella." He mumbled, disinterested. She placed her palm gently over the mark, gently trailing her fingers down to his jaw. Her eyes were immediately drawn to his lips and her mind went to a totally different place. "It was kind of hot when you grabbed her wrist, though."

"Yeah?" Troy asked, smirk returning.

"Mm..." Sharpay nodded, smiling as Troy's hand reached up for the one touching his face. He slid his fingers in between hers and squeezed, "Are you trying to tell me you have some sort of dominance and submission fantasy?"

"If that's how you want to interpret it..." She trailed off, enjoying the amused look in his eye and the way her body tingled as his other hand torturously trailed up to catch the hand still resting on his muscle. He slid his fingers into hers once more, holding them at shoulders height. _Okay, Troy, I'll play along_. "...Dom."

He took a long lustful glance at her lips before meeting her eyes. The look made Sharpay's stomach drop. The good kind of drop. The drop that she felt when she was at the carnival on the Pirate Ship ride. As Troy took a few steps forward, Sharpay was forced lightly backwards until her back hit the wall. He squeezed her hands tighter, lifting them above her head and leaning forward until his lips hovered a solid centimeter above her own. Clearly she wasn't the only one with this so-called fantasy. "You still have to tell me when to stop."

She looked deep into his eyes. Then down at his lips for what seemed like ten minutes and then up again, biting the corner of her own. She nodded, "Go."

And he placed his lips immediately on hers. And she let out a very un-Sharpay like moan against his lower lip. And he held her hands even tighter. Sharpay wouldn't have imagined it to be such a challenge to make out with someone without using her hands, but she soon found herself writhing under Troy's grasp, wanting to run her hands through his hair and down his chest and up his back and over again. She hoped Troy didn't mistake the squirming for discomfort.

He didn't.

He merely responded by closing the small bit of space between them, leaving no wiggle room. Sharpay smiled against Troy's mouth. He was far too good at this. And she was far too willing to let him overpower her. No... she had to show him that Sharpay Evans wasn't going to fall powerless to his charm or his mouth or his body. Even though she was about two seconds from doing exactly that. It took every ounce of will power she had to turn her head away from the influence of his lips. He slowly let go of her hands and looked her over, lips swollen and breathing shallow. "You alright?"

Sharpay didn't look him in the eye, finishing the formulation of a plan in her head. She nodded slowly, and Troy put on his protective face as he took a step back. "Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head, holding her arms to herself as she slid away from him. She walked halfway around him, back facing where his had just been. He turned, his back now facing the wall. "Troy..." she said quietly, turning on her heels to face him. She tried to make her eyes as wide and innocent as she could muster. He stared back, at the crossroads of nervous and confused. Right where she wanted him. "What?"

She reached out to touch his chest softly, with one hand at first. Then she took a step towards him, closing in the space as she reached up with her other hand. Before he could have an idea what she was up to, she pressed against his unsuspecting torso firmly, his back hitting the wall. His eyes went from curiously wide to understandingly narrow in the matter of a second. She kept her hands pressed against his chest, about to kiss him when a voice on the other side of the wall knocked on the door and announced, "Clothes for sleeping in the closet, guys."

Sharpay inched her lips closer to Troy's, sleeping no longer on her mind, and answered back quickly with a, "Thanks, Vince."

"No prob." He replied, voice fading as if he were already down the hall.

Sharpay's mouth had already found its way back to Troy's, her hands sliding under the hem of his white shirt and trailing along the waistband of his black Emporio Armanis. Feeling a shiver through his body, she grinned into his kiss and one of his hands grabbed onto her hip. He kissed his way to her ear, a move that gave _her_ the shivers every time, and whispered, "You're good..."

Proud of herself, she was about to thank him for the compliment. She never managed to get it out, however, as Troy had already reversed their positions to their previous state. His hand grasped her hip tighter, Sharpay's jaw dropping slightly in enjoyment while his other hand slithered down the side of her body. "I'm better."

She didn't even bother arguing.

Instead she slid her hands further up his shirt, around his back to pull him closer. There was nipping and grasping and for a moment Sharpay wondered who it was that was making out with Troy right now. Because she'd never acted like this before. But she could understand why. And if anyone else had full access to Troy's mouth and torso they'd be doing the exact same thing.

"Give me five minutes." She whispered into his skin as he kissed down her jaw. She couldn't bear the thought of Troy's hands off of her body right now but her dress and heels combo was getting extremely uncomfortable. Loose clothes sounded like heaven right now. She was sure he'd understand. His lips curved into a smile as he murmured against her jawline, "Don't want to."

"I'll be here all night." She pulled his hair lightly, turning her head to kiss the side of his face. She almost couldn't believe that it was her who had just said that. Who was purposely seducing Troy. And somewhat succeeding. He let out a defeated breath and removed his hands from her body, pulling them back just slowly enough to be tremendously torturous. He looked her dead in the eye with his come-hither mismatched blues. She could try all she wanted but he was right. He _was_ better. "You win."

"Course I do." She grinned, in a failed attempt to gain the upper hand. She reached back up for one more kiss, letting her lips just lightly touch his. She took a step away from him, towards the closet. "Now turn around so I can get dressed."

/

Troy smirked as he turned away from the open closet. He peeled off his shirt and hung it over the back of a weird animal print chair. He kicked his shoes off at the edge of the bed. Falling face first on the light blue comforter, he folded his arms under his head and closed his eyes. After a moment, he was almost sure he'd fallen asleep, but the feeling of another person on the bed made him come to. He felt Sharpay's body crawling onto the mattress, arms on either side of him as she planted a kiss directly in between his shoulder blades. He grinned, "Didn't Vince label those as clothes for sleeping?"

"The only label on this shirt said Marc Jacobs," She countered, kissing the nape of his neck. Disbelieving of how such a sweet girl, who got worked up by even the slightest thing that she thought hurt him, could be like _this_, he pushed himself off of his stomach and onto his back. And fuck all if Sharpay wasn't the most beautiful girl in the world. She'd just shaken her hair out of her ponytail, leaving it in a blonde disarray of waves. She sat back on his hips, looking small in a borrowed white shirt and some basketball shorts. Vince must have prepped the rooms with loose clothing to fit whoever occupied the room. And Sharpay must have prepped for some sort of activity, judging by the bra he could see through her shirt. Despite this, she looked down at him with the most innocent smile in the world. Looks were very deceiving. _Stop staring, Troy, stop staring_. She placed her finger tips over the contour of his muscles, "I'm not really tired."

He smirked, fingers tracing a line where the shorts ended and her legs began. _Oh really? _"What are you?"

"...Hot."

"And what are we going to do about that?" He asked, hands resting on top of her thighs. He had some ideas. She bit her bottom lip in contemplation, blinking a few times. She brought her hands up, brushing them over his own before grasping the hem of her borrowed shirt. Her back arched as she peeled the henley off of her torso. Definitely not helping with the whole trying-not-to-stare thing. She dropped the shirt behind her while Troy had a long guy moment. Scanning over the tanned skin of her abdomen, his blue eyes noted the indent of her belly button and the curve of her waist and up over her chest and strapless bra. Of course she was wearing a strapless bra. She'd had on a strapless dress, it only made sense. But god forbid things should start slipping once they start moving. As if any other guy would have found that thought a problem. He could have lay there and stared in admiration for hours. Millions of adjectives formed behind his eyes but the first that came out was, "You're... stunning."

"You too." Her cheeks turned pink as she smiled. She leaned down slowly, taking her time to place a hand on either side of his head, long blonde hair falling off her shoulder and encasing their faces like curtains. And Troy could barely take it, eyes noticeably trained on her lips as she closed in on him. He tilted his chin upwards, catching her lower lip as a soft hand went to the side of his face.

She slid her hand under his neck, and he was all too willing to match the level of intensity she was working with. He slid his hand up the side of her leg and over her hip before curling his arm around her waist. He twisted their bodies over, holding himself up with the arm pinned under her back. She caught her head by grabbing the pillow behind her, immediately returning it to the side of his face. Her fingers trailed up into his hair as his hips settled in between her legs. He kissed down her neck, noting how her back arched up to keep her skin in contact with his. He smoothed a hand over her thigh skin left exposed with her risen basketball shorts. He kissed the soft skin along the top of her sexy as hell lace bra, finding it increasingly harder to not take advantage of this situation.

Sharpay pulled at the nape of his neck, and caught his lips the minute they were close enough to hers. He moved his hand back to her waist as her fingers left goosebumps wherever they went. They trailed down over his chest, down his abdomen and he pulled himself back, trying to regulate his breathing while she looked up at him. Oh, she knew what she was doing in those mere two inches in between their bodies. As did he, unable to tear his eyes away from hers as she stared back at him, seemingly unabashed. Her fingers maneuvered the button from its place before slowly pulling the zipper down. Troy swallowed, trying to refocus his mind on his Sharpay's hands _not_ being half a centimeter from his manhood. She bit the corner of her lip as she dragged her hands back up. _Dead puppies, dead puppies, dead puppies._

She pulled him close to him again. _Brussel sprouts, brussel sprouts, brussel sprouts. _And he melted again her. And her fingers ran through his hair. _Grandma, grandma, grandma. _And her tongue was dancing circles around him. And he could hardly control himself. But he had to. He really had to. He pulled away from her lips and her hands slowly slid out of his hair as she blinked her eyes open. She bit her bottom lip, cheeks flushed. _Fuck. _Why did he have to be the good guy? "We can't."

She blinked again. He let out a breath and moved a strand of hair out of her face. She looked back and forth between his eyes. "Troy, if you don't want to, you can just say so."

She couldn't be serious. No way she thought that resisting her without extreme difficulty was a possibility. He leaned down and kissed her, just long enough for her hand to slide around his back to his shoulders. He pulled back slightly. "Trust me. I want to." Her eyebrows furrowed almost unnoticeably. But at the proximity they were at the moment he could practically feel her breath. "But not half drunk. In a guest room. At a friend's house. Or any combination of the three."

She trailed her fingernails lightly down his arms and up to his jaw. _Agh. Chills_. She gave him a small smile. The cutest in the world. "Why are you so perfect?"

"Just trying to stay on the same level as you." He replied, and her smile grew. She pulled him down by his neck, hands on either side of his face as she kissed him with one of her passionately soft, deliciously tasting kisses. He rolled off of her, pulling her into his side. She put her head on his chest and they both lay there in silence for a while as he brushed his fingers through her hair. "Do you need a blanket?"

She shook her head, her near naked torso pressed against his side. She hooked a leg over his for effect, nestling her cheek into his chest. "I just need you."

He kissed her hair, resting his chin lightly on top of her head as he smiled to himself. Drunk or not. He felt the same exact way.

/

"See you at dinner?"

Sharpay nodded and smiled as Troy planted a kiss on her lips on the bottom step of the entrance to Hale. Clad in a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, and her jacket, she was thankful that Martha had packed her a day-after outfit in her bag, because the thought hadn't even crossed Sharpay's mind. She was still teetering around in her fuchsia heels, though. She tucked her clutch under her arm, Eastwood ID in her hand to let her back into Hale. She was thankful for the warmth that greeted her, combating the December air outside. She just wanted to go upstairs, take another Advil, and see what horrible pictures were already up on Facebook from last night. Even though the website was supposedly banned from Eastwood. She pulled herself up the two flights of stairs and down the hall.

"Evans."

Sharpay looked over her shoulder, hand on the doorknob to her room. Lily was closing the door to her own, as if she'd been there for hours and was just about to leave the room for the first time. "Yeah?"

"Special delivery." She said, smoothly pulling a manilla folder out of her black Birkin bag. Sharpay looked down at it as she held it out to her. Lily raised an eyebrow. "Well, do you want it?"

She shook herself out of her trance and nodded, reaching out for it. She pulled it to her body and Lily slid the purse into the crook of her arm. Sharpay looked down at the folder, which had no writing on it and felt like there was nothing in it either. But she highly doubted Lily's 'special delivery' would be a plain, empty manila folder. Should she open it in front of her? Did Lily want her to? "Do I-"

"No." She said simply. "You show it to no one. You speak of it with no one. And you ask for help from no one. And to be clear 'no one' includes Bolton."

Ask for help? With what? Opening the envelope? Nonetheless, Sharpay nodded in understanding. Lily stared at her for a moment longer before smiling and turning around to the staircase on her Fendi booties. Sharpay waited until her body was no longer visible. She slid into her room and closed the door behind her. She walked straight across the dark mahogany floors and dropped her clutch from last night on her bed. She sat down on the edge and kicked off Brooke's heels, thankful to be rid of them. She decided she was going to be wearing flats for the next week. She looked down at the folder in her lap thoughtfully for a few seconds before actually opening it. It looked like there was only one sheet of paper in it. Sharpay looked confused, "What's so special?"

She pulled the contents out, which turned out to be two pieces of computer paper stapled together at the corner. In the middle of the first page, written in a neat-but-loopy script: _Read Me_. She flipped the page over, and there, staring back at her, was a whole lot of nothing. No words. No pictures. Nothing. She even flipped it over and looked at the back. Nada. Nothing but a blank 8 x 10. This was her 'special delivery'? This is what she was supposed to read? She flipped back to the cover page and slumped her shoulders.

'Read me'?

Read what?


	29. The Riddle

Three hours.

That's how long Sharpay had been at the library. In a pair of PINK sweatpants and matching sweatshirt. If Gabriella or Kelsi saw her out dressed like this they'd probably go into a fashion coma. But she was too preoccupied to worry about looking good. Luckily it was a Sunday, freezing, and still dinner time. Not many people around to judge her wardrobe selection. Her chin was resting on the palm of her hand as the other scrolled through a webpage she'd sworn she'd already read. Normally, she would have used the computers provided by the school, but as she had figured they were all occupied by students cramming for class tomorrow. So she'd opted to bring her laptop, sit alone at one of the desks, and search in secrecy.

She groaned and looked over at the stapled papers. _Read Me_. She looked back at the screen. She'd been Google-ing for hours, completely ignoring the French homework that was due in the morning. She had searched almost everything she could thing of: 'Read Me', 'blank paper', 'how to read a blank page', and even 'secret message'. Nothing seemed to result in a useful answer.

Clearly this was another part of her Hale initiation... what else could it be? Why else would Lily have given it to her personally? She tapped her fingers against the finger pad mindlessly as she slouched, adding another reason to the list of justifications for her to not be a real Hale girl. She scrolled through the Google Search page again, wondering if something new had popped up in the millisecond it took her to blink. Nothing did. What was she supposed to do? She very obviously couldn't ask anyone. Lily had specifically said no showing, no speaking, no help, and no Troy. Especially no Troy.

The sound of her phone vibrating loudly against the tabletop shook her from her thoughts. She picked it up quickly, looking at the librarian's desk across the way to make sure she hadn't heard. She smiled at the picture on the screen, touched it, and held it to her ear. "I'm in the library," she whispered, slipping the useless paper into its manila folder and securing it closed.

"Well, get out of there."

She rolled her eyes, holding the iPhone up with her shoulder as she closed and slid her MacBook Pro into her messenger bag, along with the folder. Once she had put her jacket back on she pulled the bag onto her shoulder and made towards the stairs along the right wall. The downstairs librarian gave her a look as she walked over to the front doors. What was it with librarians and technology?

"Alright, I'm out." She announced into the speaker, greeted by a blast of cold air. She looked up into the sky, clouds threatening snow in the dark sky. Taylor had told everyone about a blizzard at lunch that she'd heard on the news. It was supposed to start tonight and last until at least twenty inches of snow had accumulated. Maybe they'd even cancel classes. "What're you doing?"

"Nothing of interest," Jimmie yawned. She heard him fumble with something and figured he was at his desk doing homework. Probably an essay due for first period History. "Boring History homework."

"You're so predictable." Sharpay laughed.

"Yeah? What am I wearing?"

"Whatever you wore to basketball practice."

He made a buzzer noise. "Incorrect."

"You already took a shower?"

"Don't sound so surprised, Shar, you might offend me."

"I could never offend you and you know it."

"True. You're too nice."

She smiled at the smile in his voice, and wondered what he would think of her relationship with Gabriella. Very unlike Albuquerque Sharpay. This was new Eastwood Sharpay. She hoped he still liked her. A group of girls walking into the library looked at her as she walked past, but the only whispered words Sharpay managed to hear were "dating Troy" and "so lucky". She bit the inside of her cheek, thinking about Troy and the grey beanie he'd worn to dinner, his hair just flipping out from underneath. Then she thought of Jimmie in one of his baseball caps. "So, flirt with any girls lately?"

"Why?" He asked, voice thick with smugness. "Jealous?"

"Hardly." _No... Maybe... Okay, fine a little bit_.

"In that case, yes." Sharpay readjusted the strap on her messenger bag. What was this feeling all of a sudden? She was dating Troy. Jimmie was allowed to see other girls. It wasn't like she and Jimmie had even been official. They hadn't even been close to being official. They'd never even gone on a date... Sharpay stopped her mind before it could go any further. It was bad enough having to leave him in the first place. Thinking about it just made her relive the pain of seeing his face in the rearview mirror all over again- that's why she tried to keep the thoughts to a minimum. Whenever someone called her 'Shar' the image came back. And it hurt. Especially when Troy said it. Troy. Right. Troy who was here. Troy who wasn't leaving. She looked down at her feet while she walked. "Who? The cheerleaders?"

"Sharpay Evans, I am classier than that."

"Drama Club Ice Queens?" Sharpay pictured the blonde girl who was the lead in every East High production and her lap dog brother. Coincidentally, she was the very girl Sharpay had spent two years trying to impress. She'd try to influence her to include her in her clique by serving as stage crew and background chorus for every show. "Ding ding ding."

Sharpay blinked. Was he serious? She suddenly wished she could be a talented singer with a pink convertible and bedazzled microphone. "Are you kidding me?"

"Yes, Shar, relax." He laughed, typing faint in the background.

"Jerk." She stated plainly. "Can we change topics now?"

More typing. "To what?"

"I don't know... What's the essay about?"

"We have to summarize this packet we read in class... About how Benjamin Franklin was actually involved in espionage and how he was writing coded letters to the British Secret Service during the Revolution."

Sharpay scoffed at the irony. Ben Franklin knew how to write secret letters with a quill pen and she couldn't even decipher the meaning of one with the World Wide Web. Pathetic. But wait... "How did he write them?"

"Why?" He laughed again. "Planning on pursuing a career as a spy?"

"Please, I could never pull anything like that off." _Though I've successfully stolen keys, snuck across campus, broken into a locked file room, stolen a folder, and returned both without getting caught. _But besides that, no. She could never. "Just curious."

"Well, there were a bunch of different ways. Like invisible ink and ciphers and shit. It's actually pretty awesome. And there was this guy, um... Banto... Bank... Bancroft! And he was the one who-"

Sharpay took the information down as notes in her head. The idea that seemed the most plausible was the invisible ink. Mostly due to the fact that there were two blank pages in that folder- no, that wasn't true. One of them had two words on it. Seemed logical enough. She pulled her ID from her pocket, allowing herself entrance to Hale and the heat that came with it. She pushed the large door shut behind her and started to undo her coat. In her ear, Jimmie was still spitting facts about late century spies, probably more for him to finish writing his paper than to help her learn. But she didn't mind because she was more focused on getting upstairs and figuring out how to read the invisible message Lily had handed to her.

"Sharpay, we're staying up like fourteen year olds and having an Ashton Kutcher marathon." Martha called from her spot on the couch. Sharpay looked over and saw her reclining with four others in front of the television. "Join us. Because there is absolutely no way school is happening tomorrow from the way Taylor makes it sound."

"Then again she's still upstairs doing her homework." Angela offered, brushing her fingers through her brown bangs.

"No, she's doing mine." Kelsi corrected, unsheepishly.

"You are a horrible friend, Kelsi Nielsen." The senior teased. Kelsi held up her hand to defend herself, phone still open in a text. "She offered! She gets a high off of writing essays, I swear. If I didn't think she enjoyed it I wouldn't let her."

"Riiiiight," Martha smirked.

Sharpay laughed, hanging her jacket on the coat rack and moving towards the stairs. She had business to tend to that didn't include seeing Ashton's backside in No Strings Attached. "Maybe in a bit, okay? I've got something I've gotta finish first."

"Alright, well hurry" was the last thing she heard before hurrying up the stairs. It wasn't until she'd reached the third floor that she slowed down into a normal pace, walking down the hallway until she reached her room at her right. She was about to open the door when she heard her name. It was muffled, but she definitely heard it. Sharpay looked over her shoulder at Martha and Brooke's closed door. It couldn't have come from there if both of them had just been on the couch downstairs. She heard more talking and decided it was a guy's voice. "I don't see why this has to be my job."

She took another step towards the voice, sure now that it was coming from behind Lily's closed bedroom door. Lily's authoritative tone was in full effect when she replied, "Because who would suspect you, Cross?"

Cross. Jason.

Sharpay had never tip-toed so quietly in her life. She didn't want to press her ear flat against the door, it felt more invasive somehow. So she settled for more of a hover. Jason sighed loudly. Silence passed. "You're certain?"

"I don't do anything unless I am."

"Shouldn't Troy be involved? He could, I don't know, be the muscle. You know he'd go for it."

"Of course he would. Because when it comes to Sharpay Troy thinks with his heart first and his brain second. And that is exactly why _no one_ is going to tell him." Lily put particular emphasis on 'no one' only making her velvet smooth voice sound more intimidating. What was the topic of conversation and why was she a part of it? Why was Troy? Was it their relationship? Was it about the manila folder? Why was Lily trusting Jason with whatever it was that needed to be done between she and Troy? Something crawled nervously around the inside of her stomach. "We'll finish this later."

The voice was closer. Too close. Practically on the other side of the door. Sharpay straightened up so fast she heard her back crack. The bag with her laptop swung dangerously on her shoulder as she distanced herself away from the door just in time for Lily to pull it wide open. Sharpay felt frozen in front of the raven haired senior, made immobile by her sapphire stare. Behind her, Jason was standing up from her small couch, blue curtains covering the windows served as a backdrop. He gave her a look but Sharpay couldn't place it. Lily raised an eyebrow. "Question?"

"They're um, watching movies all night or something. I just wanted to see if you were going down." She sucked at lying under pressure. Lily seemed to see right through it, probably knowing full well she had heard a piece of she and Jason's conversation. "I have a phone call to make, but probably after." She turned her head. "Jason, you were leaving?"

"Yeah," he replied. He exchanged a glance with Lily, stopping for a second in front of Sharpay. She stared back at him, unwavering. _What are you up to? _He looked her up and down, looking like he wanted to say something before merely shaking his head and making for the stairs. Okay then.

When Sharpay turned back to Lily's door it had been swiftly and silently closed. How did she do things like that? She walked back down to her own door and walked in. Her side of the bathroom was open but, as suspected, Lily had shut hers. Sharpay dropped her bag lightly at the base of her desk, pulling out her laptop and opening it on her desk. She pulled out the manila folder as well and let the blank papers stare up at her. She decided to forget about what she had just heard in Lily's room and focus on one problem at a time. Invisible ink. _Read me, you have my full attention_.

It took a mere five minutes with the right Google search to get the answer Sharpay needed. Apparently there was more than one type of invisible ink. And of course, because nothing could be simple during times like these, there were even more ways to unveil the ink. But it depended on the ink that was used. Sharpay scrolled through the webpage. She should start with the least destructive decipher method first, right? Just in case it was wrong and she completely messed up the paper. Heat seemed to be the option most websites offered as revealing the ink. It took her a while, but she finally dug out the small iron her mother had bought her before she moved in- apparently a mini iron and travel size ironing board are on the must-have list for students living in a dorm. Funny. She hadn't used it once. Come to think of it, she hadn't even gone through her entire wardrobe, yet. The constant addition of new outfits via AmEx wasn't helping that cause.

Sorry mom.

After careful consideration not to set accidental fire to her desk, Sharpay sat, smoothing the low-heat iron over the first sheet of paper, around the only two already visible words on the page. _Read me? Oh, I'll read you, you invisible sneak. _It seemed to take no time at all before light brown lines connected into letters that connected into cursive words. She set the iron on it's side, leaning her elbows on the edge of the desk as she read the full message.

_Discovering how to_

_Read Me_

_Is only part of this task_

_To find out the next_

_This riddle_

_You must crack_

Sounded simple enough. Except Sharpay had never been good with riddles. Not even knock-knock jokes. She was smart, sure, very, but that part of her brain just seemed to be less developed. And she was certain that whatever it was Lily was expecting her to be able to do was not going to be simple. It was a test, after all. But that did not stop Sharpay from wishing whatever the next page brought with it resembled a Dr. Seuss book. Rhymes, and maybe an invisible inked out illustration. _In your dreams. _The second page concealed a longer message, it turned out, and not centered like on the first page. Along the left side of the invisible margin, still written in a neat cursive, the riddle read:

_Just a boy, you'll find is_

_Always in the know, part of a_

_Matching pair, but not identical_

_Exactly like the others he is_

_Superior to yourself and always_

_One to be friendly, though he is_

_Not one you should mess with_

_Work quickly and without guilt_

_If you hope to progress, for your_

_Lips must touch his while the_

_Eyes of your lover are witness_

_You have until midnight_

Sharpay slouched down against her desk chair. Nothing like Dr. Seuss, that's for sure. '_For your lips must touch his while the Eyes of your lover are witness'_? It had to be a joke. A test. A mental test. Well it was working. Because that stanza was the scariest part for Sharpay. Not the fact that she couldn't talk to Troy about this. Not the fact that she had no idea who this '_Just a boy_' was. But the fact that she had to kiss him. In front of Troy. Before midnight. There always had to be a time limit, huh? She ripped a piece of paper out of one of her looseleaf notebooks and quickly rewrote the message, just in case the ink somehow vanished again. She looked up at her iHome; she had about two hours to find mystery boy and kiss him before the clock struck twelve.

Get a move on, Cinderella.

But wait, what if it was already too late? Lily had given her the parcel yesterday... so technically midnight had already passed. She had failed. Game over. Following through with the task now would just be a waste of time and energy. Wish she'd figured _that_ out before spending so much time sitting in the library on Google. She got up from the desk and curled up on her bed, head where her feet should be so she could watch the snow flurries trickle down from the clouds invading the dark night sky.

She couldn't give up that easy. She wasn't the type to back down against the odds. If she had been, she'd have never gotten into the cool group back in Albuquerque. The group that had seemed to be ever. Thinking about who she hung around with now, the group she was potentially about to really be a part of- the idea of trying to please a petty blonde drama queen seemed mediocre. After befriending Lily, no one would ever seem quite as intimidating. Not even Gabriella. She fell more in the scary column. So maybe there was still time. If there was any chance at all that she could complete whatever was meant for her to be completed by midnight, whichever midnight it was referring to, she was going to go for it.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been laying there thinking before something vibrated underneath her feet. She reached under her pillows to grab her phone. It had probably taken cover there after she'd thrown it onto her bed, ecstatic that she'd finally discovered how to read the hidden message. Too bad it had been one day too late. She looked at the picture on the screen and smiled, collapsing back down with the iPhone against her ear. "Yes?"

"You're not doing anything, are you?"

She looked over at her desk. She couldn't tell Troy about the riddle, but that didn't necessarily mean she had to lie. "Nothing productive."

See? Technically true.

"Want to come over and help me with French? Or... not help me with French?" The mere sound of his smile coming through his voice made her excited and nervous at the same time. Excited because he was all hers. Nervous because she was about to potentially kiss one of his friends right in front of his face. The Stuart boys were the only ones on campus she would consider 'superior'. Troy wasn't going to like this at all. She just hoped he would forgive her.

"Troy Bolton, is this a booty call?"

"Well, Jason is downstairs playing Modern Warfare with Zeke and Alex, leaving me alone in the room with my textbook, but that's up to your interpretation."

"I don't know, I mean, I'm already in sweatpants and it just started snowing..." She trailed off, knowing full well she'd end up over there anyway. If not for the sake of the task, simply because she wanted to be with Troy. "It's gonna cost you."

"Name your price."

Sharpay smiled like she always did when she realized that Troy actually wanted to be with her. That weird looking face-scrunching-dimple-showing-eyes-sparkling kind of smile. She brought her hand to her face to control the muscles and managed to relax it down into a normal smile. "You have to come get me and walk me over."

"Done." Troy said almost immediately. "Anything else?"

"Nope." She rolled off the bed and over to her dresser. "If you haven't noticed, I'm pretty easy to please."

"And I appreciate that quality in you." She pulled a pair of jeans out of her dresser and pushed it shut with her foot. She heard Troy rustling on the other end. Probably pulling on a sweatshirt or something. "I'll be over in five."

The call cut out, signaling that Troy had hung up. Sharpay was thankful that she had found Troy, perfect balance of gentleman and normal teenager. Sometimes a little more old fashioned than she would like, but she couldn't change the way he was raised. She appreciated the car door opening and the manners and the respect. But she also appreciated that he didn't feel the need to stay on the phone with her having a You-Hang-Up-First-No-You-No-You-You're-So-Cute-You're-Cuter-You're-Cutest type conversation every night. Gag Fest 2011. She pictured Gabriella being the type to enjoy things like that.

Good thing Troy scared her off at Vince's party Friday night.

As she shimmied into her jeans she recalled the image of Troy and Gabriella forced to kiss during Spin The Bottle. Followed by Troy's slightly snide comment. Which had led to the slap. And the second failed attempt at a slap. Sharpay frowned, looking at the floor, where Gabriella's room was directly underneath her feet. Good. She deserved to be put in her place every so often. The fact that Troy had done it only made it better. She walked over to the closet, shaking her head. No, she couldn't think like that. It only brought her down to Gabriella's level. To prove a point to herself, she slid her feet into her grey Uggs. She didn't need fancy clothes to prove she was worthy, she just needed the right personality. It seemed to work for Troy. She grabbed her ID, her French book, the rewritten riddle, and her phone and tossed all of it into her purse.

She made her way down the stairs, stopped by the voices of her fellow Hale girls sitting around the common room on couches. As promised, Just Married played on the television screen. Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek, suddenly feeling bad about ditching them to go over to Stuart for the night. Than again, if she decoded the riddle she'd be back by midnight to give the answer to Lily. If that's what had to happen, she wasn't too sure of the details. She just knew that the deadline was midnight. She reached the coatrack, pulling hers from its hook when Martha called out to her, curled up under a thick blanket. "You're going out again? It's like ten. Where could you possibly be needed besides this couch?"

Like clockwork, Troy slid through the door, shaking a few snowflakes out of his hair. He caught her eye and she was momentarily confused before he held up the Master Key card. Right. He was special. He could let himself in wherever he pleased. Not like her, who was still running around solving riddles. His arms seemed to find their way directly around her shoulder, squeezing her for warmth. Sharpay could practically hear Kelsi rolling her eyes. "Of course. They can't be apart for more than a few hours."

Troy smirked, looking over at her. "Is that a bad thing?"

"It's called a Honeymoon Phase." Gabriella replied, probably forcing herself to not seem angry. Suddenly she didn't feel bad about missing the movie marathon. "It always ends."

"Let's hope it's soon, their happiness is overwhelming." Angela teased, turning back to the flat screen with a cup of peppermint hot chocolate in her hands. Sharpay grinned and looked up at Troy. He straightened out the sleeves on her jacket before placing both hands on either side of her face and kissing her. For a decent amount of time. Enough for Brooke to interrupt with, "Can you guys relocate? All this real romance is distracting me from the fake stuff."

French verb. Riddle. Riddle. Riddle. French adjective. Incorrect pronunciation, Troy. Riddle. French verb. Riddle. Not enough time. Almost midnight. Sharpay closed her textbook in frustration. Maybe a little too loudly. Troy looked up from his video game rocker chair, startled. "Did I not pronounce that right?"

She blinked over to him, so conflicted she almost laughed. "No- I mean, yes, you pronounced it wrong, but that's not why I..." She trailed off. What did she expect herself to say? Not why she was thinking about having to kiss another guy? Not why she was trying to decipher a riddle instead of doing her homework? Troy closed his book, much softer than she had, and set it on the floor at his side. "You okay?"

"It's just..." She sighed. _Lie, Sharpay, lie_. "I can't focus... You know, the snow. We might not even have class."

"This is true." He responded, standing from the rocker to just in front of the desk chair Sharpay was reclined in. "Do you need a study distraction?"

More like a full-on mental distraction. She nodded, feeling his lips on hers before she even had the time to fully slide her arms around his neck. _This could work. _She slipped her fingers just underneath the collar at the back of his shirt, feeling his warm skin and the small row of goosebumps that went almost undetected. She pushed herself up, allowing Troy free range of touch, something which he took full advantage of. And Sharpay was not complaining. His hands came to rest somewhere around her lower back, and she felt her fingers down the front of his chest.

"Just... One second." She pulled herself away, walking over to the door and locking it. She turned and looked back at him, scratching the shoulder of her PINK hoodie. "Jason."

"That probably won't stop him." Troy smirked, slipping his arms back around her as soon as he could, as if one second without contact was not an option.

"It'll buy us time." She slid her hands up his arms and reached up to kiss him, stepping backwards slowly as to lead him in the direction of his bed. She unzipped her sweatshirt, shrugging the fabric from her shoulder one by one before Troy caught her body above the mattress. She propped her knee up against his thigh, inviting his hand to run down the length of her body. His lips kept a firm lock on her upper lip and she traced the contours of his back while her arms kept him close, wrapped around his neck. After more than enough time had passed, she'd had enough of his shirt getting in the way, and she started to pull at the soft cotton suggestively before jiggling of the doorknob momentarily distracted them both.

"Got him." Sharpay whispered, staring up at Troy as he finished pulling the shirt from his head, dropping it at their side. She saw the amused grin on his mouth before it met hers again.

"Oh shucks, the door is locked. Whatever will I do?" She smiled triumphantly against Troy's lips, fingers tangling into his brown hair. "Oh, I know..." Jason continued, sounding slightly closer than he had a moment ago. "Maybe walk through the unlocked adjoining room..." He finished, pushing open the bathroom door with a satisfied look on his face and then unlocking their bedroom door for effect. Troy's head fell away from hers in defeat, into the crook of her neck. He kissed her once, twice, whisper-mumbling, "Forgot about the bathroom."

"Nice try, amateurs." He applauded, walking over to his bed and taking a seat on the edge.

"Jason, for as big a ladies man as you claim to be, you really don't spend much time anywhere besides your suite, do you?" Sharpay asked, turning her head slightly to peer over Troy's head, who refused to remove his mouth from the length of her neck. It was taking a considerable amount of energy to keep herself from giggling. She felt his breath just beneath her ear and bit the inside of her cheek, tugging at his hair slightly in an attempt to cease the activity. But he didn't.

And she didn't care one bit.

His green eyes met hers. Always amused. Never shy. "Not my fault you guys choose the worst times to start macking. But before dinner I was over at Barlow, if that's any consolation."

_You were also in Hale after dinner. Funny how you left that little piece of information out._

Troy's lips finally ceased their assault and he rolled onto his side, carefully placing his feet on the ground to stand in a upright position. He reached for his shirt to cover up his freshly bare torso. He could keep it off... Sharpay wouldn't mind... He ran a hand through his hair and gave his roommate a look. "The lower class-men dorm?"

"Shouldn't you be aiming higher than sophomores?" She added. Jason turned his head to her. "Shouldn't you be out skulking the hallways?"

Troy narrowed his eyes curiously, unsure of who to address first- Jason or Sharpay. "Skulking?"

Sharpay tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear, ignoring his question. Thoughts of him and Lily and Troy and herself flooded her mind. "Mind your business, Jason."

He smirked and flashed his eyebrows. "Mind yours."

"Is anyone going to tell me what's going on or..." Troy started, looking between the two of them. He pulled the shirt over his head. Sharpay avoided eye contact at all costs, she didn't feel like feeling guilty, which is exactly what would happen if she looked up into his eyes. Like everyone around here being used to knowing everything, he hated to be out of the loop. And she wanted to tell him what she was doing. That she had a task to complete, a time limit to complete it within, and she was going to have to kiss someone else to move on. Not just someone. Someone 'superior than thou'. Which, you know, was pretty much everyone around here. It might as well have been Jason. No... it couldn't be. He wasn't friendly like the riddle required.

"Snows falling like crazy, guys." A smooth voice called from behind the still-closed door. It opened and revealed James Wiley, shaking cotton-ball size flurries of snow from his hair onto his coat, which he had not deposited at the coat rack downstairs. His brown hair grazed his eyelashes sort of the same way Troy's did before he'd gotten a haircut. "Hey, Blondie. Be extra careful walking to Hale if you go back tonight. It's only going to get worse. You're more than welcome to stay."

"And we know these two can't be apart for more than a class period at a time." Jason threw in for his own amusement, sounding like Kelsi had in the common room. It may have even been a jab at Sharpay, but who could tell with either of them.

Sharpay simply stared as James unbuttoned his jacket, grinning as he backed out of the room. "And you're more than welcome to sleep on one of the couches if you want to give them some privacy."

Jason followed him out, shaking his head at the idea. "Why would I do that? She's the guest. She should sleep on the couch..."

He trailed off, most likely in James' room now. Sharpay continued to stare at the empty doorframe where the senior had vacated. Something had crossed her mind during the back and forth between he and Jason. The second he had spoken to her, looked at her with those hazel eyes, she knew. She had cracked the riddle after staring it right in the face.

Friendly in offering she stay the night. Superior in rank, to her and every other boy at this school. Always in the know, as Alpha male should and was expected to be. And as sweet as he came across to her, she knew that if he was anything like Lily or Gabriella, he was not one you wanted to mess with. Pretty on the outside, venom on the inside; so to speak. And the matching pair... Angela. Nearly identical twins with the gender difference. How had that not been obvious he second Sharpay read it? Sure, the Wileys probably weren't the only twins at Eastwood, but they certainly were the most superior. And apart from Faye and Felicia Foster, they were probably the most superior twins Sharpay had ever met. _Ugh_. _Stupid stupid stupid!_

"Sharpay... are you alright?" Troy asked, part of him sounded concerned but the other half was still buzzing with suspicion as to Jason's 'skulking' comment earlier. He took a step toward her, and she blinked out of her haze. "Fine."

Though everyone knew saying 'fine' was the equivalent of saying 'no'.

And the look he gave her made it clear that he wasn't buying it, but before he could ask any of his protective-boyfriend-type questions she took off towards his desk, reaching into her purse which she had thrown onto his chair. "I just have to... bathroom... for just a minute."

She reached into the bag and grabbed the crinkled piece of notebook paper before rushing over to the bathroom, pulling both Troy and Ryan's doors shut. If Ryan was in his room, he didn't seem curious, which Sharpay felt thankful for. She leaned against the door and looked sideways into the mirror. She probably seemed crazy. Maybe she was. Who else would run around following orders from a slip of paper? Even is if _had_ been handed to her by Lily? Maybe Lily hadn't even written it. Maybe Lily was just the middle man. The carrier pigeon. She unfolded the paper in her hands and looked down, reading the rewritten message she had copied word-for-word from the original. She read the words and then read them again. And then a third time just to make sure she absolutely had to do what was about to happen.

_Work quickly and without guilt_

_If you hope to progress, for your_

_Lips must touch his while_

_Eyes of your lover are witness_

She squeezed her eyes shut and then folded the paper back up. She had to do it. Working quickly would not be the hard part. Doing it guiltlessly, however, was. Did they really expect her to handle this without freaking out? Disregard Troy and it was still James Wiley she had to kiss. As in Lily's boyfriend, James Wiley. Her brown eyes sprung open. Lily. She had to know. There was no way she couldn't know. She knew everything. She knew your darkest secrets before you even exchanged phone numbers.

"Killing me, Lily." Sharpay mumbled, tapping her fingers against the sink countertop. She took a deep breath and shoved the paper into her back pocket. She had to do it now while the muted adrenaline of her discovery was still somewhat present in her body, before she completely broke down in nerves. She shook her hair self-consciously, sliding out of the bathroom to find Troy sitting at the edge of his bed looking down at his Blackberry. He gave her a wry smile as he placed it beside him on the mattress. "Gonna tell me what's going on now?"

She matched his smile, her face failing to produce a fake smile due to the circumstance. She reached out for his hands and laced his fingers with hers, pulling him up to stand. "You'll find out in about twenty seconds."

He didn't say anything else as Sharpay pulled him out of 302, down the hall, and a few steps into 305, where James stood, back to her, facing his dresser. Jason was sitting in his desk chair, while Vince reclined in his own. The two were tossing a blue Nerf football back and forth to one another. Sensing a new presence in the room, James turned to face the two. Sharpay swallowed the lump in her throat. Not only was there an audience about to see the show, but did she mention that James was shirtless? Shamelessly, sexily, shirtless?

Lily was lucky. Very, very lucky.

Alex, who Sharpay knew mostly as Nolan Clark's older brother, walked through the door from the adjoining bathroom before James could say anything. "Yo, I'm taking bets on how long it'll take Lucas to cancel classes. Bragging rights only."

"I say we'll get the e-mail around 6 AM." Vince volunteers without hesitation.

"He won't cancel. When I was out there it couldn't have been more than two inches." Jason said matter-of-factly as Vince tossed Alex the ball instead of himself. Alex sat back on, what she guessed was, Vince's bed, tossing the ball to Jason. Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek. _Please, join the party. The more the merrier_. "There's five and a half inches out there already, actually."

"Well, then..." The brunette caught the ball, considering this for a moment. Jason was physically incapable of passing up the opportunity of bragging rights. "I retract my statement. I say the e-mail gets sent circa 3:35 AM, Eastern standard."

"Troy, you in?" Jason asked, flipping the ball over his shoulder into Troy's hands. Sharpay wished desperately that something exciting would happen in the hallway to distract them all so she could do her business and get out. But the alarm clock on Vince's desk telling her that it was 11:43 PM was also telling her that she had 17 minutes to complete her task. And she'd rather get this over with sooner than later.

"3 AM." He tossed it to James. Great. Why not invite everyone into his room for a little pickup game?

"Blizzard central outside, guys. No way the groundskeepers are making it in time to shovel out the paths." Ryan announced, catching the ball that James threw to him right off the back. Sharpay's head fell back and she whimpered quietly at the ceiling.

SHE WAS KIDDING.

"Troy, did you need something?" James finally asked, and Sharpay turned to look at him. Troy shook his head, "Nah, man. Sharpay, I think wanted... something."

His hazel eyes turned to her and she took a deep breath. Now or never. She mustered up whatever sense of courage she had pent up inside of her and used it to cross the room, walk straight up to the shirtless Alpha Male, grab his neck, and pull him into a kiss. She heard the football hit something and knock it over, meaning whoever was supposed to catch it was now too distracted by their conjoined lips to focus. She pulled back, scared despite the rush of having just kissed James Wiley. Something she guessed, due to Lily, not many girls had the privilege of doing. And oh, it was a privilege.

"What the actual fuck?" Jason asked, with no attempt to mask the astonishment in his voice. If Sharpay didn't know better, he actually sounded a bit impressed.

"New bet." Vince announced. "How long it will take for Moore to find out."

"Someone prepare her eulogy." Ryan's voice sounded almost pitiful from behind her. Clearly none of the Stuart boys were involved in this part of her initiation- if that's what this was anyway. She thought back to the night she'd had to steal Tiara's file and remembered Troy snatching her into a conference room. Obviously Lily hired the Stuarts to provide backup security during tasks like these. Though it was obvious no security was needed for a lip lock.

She stared up at the senior in front of her, unable to move or just unable to turn and see Troy's face. Was she supposed to say something? Why was he just staring back at her? Maybe it really was too late for the task to be valid. The thought subsided when James reached into his pocket, placing the small key in Sharpay's hand and folding her fingers over it.

/

Confusion.

That was the main emotion flooding Troy's mind.

He watched Sharpay turn around, her hand pushing something into her pocket as she slowly walked towards him. Was that some kind of exchange? He met James eyes, but he merely gave one of his _This-is-none-of-your-concern_ glances. Damn him for withholding information.

She stopped in front of him, brown eyes pleading. Her arms slid around his torso and she pressed her cheek against his chest. As bewildered as he was, he found that his arms wrapped around her despite the feeling. His feelings for her seemed to trump any other emotion he was feeling. Over her head, he could see Jason and Alex both looking to him, eyes filled with questions that he had no answers to. Sharpay pulled back and looked up at him. "I know what that must have looked like but I can't explain. I'm sorry. Please don't hate me." She added another please before squeezing past Ryan out into the hallway.

His blue eyes must have shown his complete lack of understanding of the entire situation because James had to shake him back to reality with his authoritative voice. "You're not actually gonna let her walk across campus alone in the blizzard are you?" He asked, nodding his head towards the doorframe Sharpay had just walked through.

Troy shrugged, opening his mouth and waiting for something smart to pour out. Instead there was incoherent vowel sounds. "I. Uh. Just-"

"Stop her. Tell her Lily understands, it's been postponed, and to stay here."

Lily understands what? What was being postponed? "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"Later." James said to end the conversation. He pulled out his Blackberry, showing that he was done with him for now. And when he gave an order you didn't ignore it. "Go stop her first."

He caught Sharpay halfway down the staircase, gnawing at the corner of her lip. She looked just about as nervous as Troy was confused. "Shar!"

At the sound of his voice she looked up, hand on the middle railing. This was probably good, for at the speed she was descending the stairs one small slip would've meant an injury. She sighed as he walked towards her. "Troy, I'm sorry, I really have to go."

"You're not walking through the storm by yourself."

"I appreciate your concern but-"

"Whatever it is can wait until tomorrow."

She shook her head, he was just a single stair in back of her now. "It really can't. At least I don't think it can. I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to do now."

She was speaking in a way that left Troy nothing but confused. He decided to tell her what James had directed. "It's alright. Lily understands. It's... been postponed."

Her shoulders seemed to show a bit of relief. "You're sure?"

"James just told me." He nodded, and the bag on her shoulder slid into the crook of her elbow. He reached out for her hand and she took it, fingers lacing through his lazily. She looked small, younger in a way, like she hadn't slept. And suddenly he didn't care that she was keeping something from him. Besides, he'd find out one way or another. He pulled her up, wrapped his free arm around her shoulders and she gripped the side of his shirt. "I'm so sorry."

"For kissing James or not being able to explain it?" Blunt? Yes. Harsh? Maybe a little, give her obvious distress. But it had to be brought up sooner or later. She shook her head against his chest and then pulled back. "If I could, I would. You know it."

"I don't have anything to be worried about, do I?"

"No."

"Are you lying?"

"Only slightly." She bit the inside of her cheek and he sighed into defeat, pulling her back up to the third floor. "You win for now. But only because you look so exhausted."

It took a while- a lot of hushed reassuring and brushing the hair behind her ear- but Troy had finally coaxed Sharpay into sleep. Whatever was at war with her nerves seemed to have settled. Jason, who had taken his laptop into Ryan's room in attempt to avoid what he called 'couple time', walked in through the bathroom. He acknowledged Sharpay's sleeping body before placing his Mac onto his desk, where a handful of textbooks sat unopened. "Classes officially cancelled," he added, shaking his Blackberry in the air. Troy reached for his own on his bedside table and navigated to his e-mail to confirm the story for himself. "When did the She-Devil fall asleep?"

Troy looked up from answering a BBM from Faye Foster, not feeling the question deserved an answer as Jason fell back onto his navy blue bedding. His green eyes fell to his phone, "She kissed him, bro. We all saw it."

"And you think that means, what? She's suddenly into James?"

"Not necessarily."

"I'm not exactly up to playing the guessing game to decipher your motives, Jason. I just spent an hour trying to assure her that I'm not angry with her." He opened another message on his phone, looking to his left to make sure he hadn't woken Sharpay up by speaking so loudly. He lowered his voice to a little above a whisper. "Whatever the reasoning, she didn't do it by choice."

"Everything is a choice, Troy." Jason answered, looking up from his phone. "Even for us."

Troy had just opened his mouth to retaliate when a single knock on the door preceded James slipping into the room. He'd put a shirt on. That was nice of him. It was bad enough that Sharpay had kissed him at all, but of course James had put his torso on full display. Probably didn't help make the kiss any less horrible. Troy raised an eyebrow and the senior nodded to the blonde sleeping in the crook of his arm. "She asleep?"

"Yeah." He looked down, carefully sliding his bicep from under Sharpay's head. She shifted slightly when he stood up from the bed, but thankfully didn't wake from her slumber. He placed his phone back onto the table and looked down at her, one knee slightly curled into her chest. She looked even smaller, seemingly swallowed in the pair of sweatpants he'd given her to wear. Innocent. Peaceful. Beautiful, even with her eyes closed. He looked over to James. Where to begin? _So, gonna tell me why you just kissed my girl half-naked in front of a room of our friends? She's a good kisser, huh? Did you enjoy it?_

The kiss clearly affected his rational judgement.

Then again, anything involving Sharpay amplified his emotions.

James raised a hand, as if to calm his thoughts. "Be calm, Bolton, it wasn't real."

"No?" He asked, almost about to laugh. He held back, better to not get James upset. "What was it? A projection?"

"Lily needed another initiation test for Sharpay. I volunteered as a piece in the game." James' eyes flickered down to Sharpay, asleep on the bed. A small amused look crossed his face before he glanced back up to Troy. "You should be thankful I did, she could've gotten any other boy on campus to give her the key without asking questions. Easily. In which case you would've gone around feeling betrayed for days until Lily finally explained."

"What key?" Troy asked, knowing he probably wouldn't be given an answer. Initiations were typically kept very hush-hush. Information given on a need to know basis only. James shrugged. "You know Lily. She may love me, but she'll never tell me a secret. Note my close relationship with Angela. She tells me the details Lily doesn't."

He was teasing, of course, about his relationship with his twin sister. James was the definition of a good brother. Freshman year he punched Vince for drunkenly calling Angela a slut. Best friends ever since. Troy nodded. "So she just had to work up the courage to kiss you, and you'd give her the key, or..."

"It was supposed to be psychological or something. And there was a riddle or something she had to solve. Lily actually said she saw her stash a copy in her bag before coming over here, if you don't mind me snooping." James inclined his head towards Sharpay's bag, and Troy's eyes went over to Sharpay. "Think she'd care?"

"Dude, you were snooping information from her before you even met her. Just do it and add it to the list." Jason threw in his two cents from across the room. Of course he was referencing the Society file on Sharpay. Sure, he'd read it, but he didn't remember anything about it now. That was at least two years ago, when Fox had first met Sharpay in Maui. Troy hadn't even looked at the file until, well, he'd gotten jealous last week and wanted to know more about Sharpay's relationship with his cousin. But besides that, he wasn't much of a snoop of Sharpay's life. He'd decidedly left that to Lily and the other Hale girls. Being so close to her now it felt weird. If he wanted to know something all he had to do was ask. James was still waiting for approval, though, before taking action. As if Troy held power of attorney when she was asleep. Why not? It didn't seem like a big deal. "Go for it."

Troy sat back down on the bed cautiously, looking over Sharpay's face, taking in the motionless details. The slope of her nose, the curve of her eyelashes, her slightly parted lips. She was almost angelic. After a moment, James held out a ripped piece of notebook paper and read Sharpay's hurried handwriting. "Easy enough," he said.

The riddle was vaguely describing James, followed by the action she was to perform by midnight. Clearly Troy was this 'lover' whose eyes had to bear witness. Easy? Not totally. Psychological? Spot on. No wonder Sharpay had gotten herself so worked up. While his eyes casually scanned over the page, he caught something. The first letter of each line of the riddle. He checked twice to make sure he hadn't made it up. He held the paper in James' direction. "Did you catch it?"

He nodded, just about to exit their bedroom. "Bet you she didn't." The first letters, strung together, spelt:

JAMESON WILEY.


	30. See You Soon

Sharpay blinked her eyes open lazily, feeling like she'd only been asleep for an hour. A brief glance at the window proved otherwise. She wasn't sure if it was because she was still half-asleep or because her eyes hadn't adjusted to being awake, but she was certain there was something different about her room. Had she fallen asleep in Gabriella's bed or something? She was too mentally exhausted to care. She rubbed at her eyes. The curtains were shut and light was dull, but it was definitely morning. Morning. Monday morning. Class. She was late. _SHIT._ Why hadn't her alarm gone off? Why hadn't Troy called her? She was about to spring from the bed and rush over to clock until she felt his arm draped over her waist.

Oh. Right. Well that explained the change of scenery.

Leave it to Sharpay to put two and two together and get five. Just went to show how useless she was in the morning. She placed her bare arm over Troy's and pulled it closer around her. It wasn't that she was cold in her thin camisole and Troy's sweatpants, it was more a craving to feel closer to him. Which was saying something, since his entire perfect body was currently pressed against her back underneath his forest green sheets. It was like they'd been molded and packaged into one single unit- she was sure their breathing was pretty much synchronized, she felt his breath barely brushing against her ear through her hair. His sleeping fingers somehow found their way into their way in between hers, and she was almost sure it was an unconscious movement until his face nestled a little further into her hair and his lips pressed lightly against her head. She smiled like an idiot. "I always wake you up."

She felt him shake his head lazily, squeezing her hand. "I'm a light sleeper."

"You're just being nice."

"Maybe a little." He teased, his voice still a tired whisper. Sharpay looked over at Jason's side of the room, only to find him still passed out and shirtless, wrapped in his navy sheets. One of his arms was hanging off the side of the bed. She was tempted to take a picture for blackmail/torture purposes but then realized he'd probably just find some way to John Tucker the situation and make his sleepiness sexy. Whatever, then. She preferred the brunette whose muscular arm was securely fastened around her body and was whispering lazily into her hair. Definitely her type of sexy.

"No class today?"

"Mm-mmm." He mumbled his answer.

"Snow day?"

"Mm-hmm."

She turned her body slowly, as to not fully rouse him from his slumber. She examined his face, lying with her chest a few inches away from his, draping her ankle over his leg as his arm fell right back into place over her waist. She curled her arm in between them, tracing along his jaw as lightly as humanly possible. "So I'm stuck here all day?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Do you care?" He shook his head, unable to form another syllable of a noise. She smiled, but then she remembered. The task. She had to get back. She had to talk to Lily- though she probably wouldn't be awake yet. Beauty sleep was her M.O. "So I could walk back over to Hale?" He shook his head again. "But I thought you didn't care..."

He opened his eyes a fraction of a centimeter, just enough to display their blue color but not a bit more. "Blizzard. You're not going anywhere."

"But-"

"End of discussion." He mumbled, eyes trained while waiting for her to protest. _Mm, authoritative Troy. _As if he wasn't hot enough with his messy bed-head and stormy eyes and husky voice. She couldn't say no to authoritative Troy. She frowned instead and closed her eyes. "Fine."

His hand found her chin and his lips pressed firmly against hers for a few moments. Any thoughts or worries of morning breath had vanished long ago. All there was was bliss. Frown gone. He always seemed to know how to change her mood. He brushed some hair behind her ear, "Just relax."

She opened her eyes, "Easier said."

"You'll be fine," he said reassuringly, leading Sharpay to believe that someone had told him what was going on. Why she had kissed James. Why she had tried so hard to leave. She nodded her head against his arm, mostly to herself in understanding. Looking directly into her eyes he grinned sleepily, "You're beautiful."

She fought a blush, inching closer and burying her face into his neck. "You're delirious."

"Perhaps. But that doesn't make it any less true."

She thought it useless to fight him on this point. He'd simply use his lips or his hands or more sweet words to prove her wrong. She settled for kissing his chest and nestling against his soft cotton t-shirt as his arm repositioned around her waist, eliminating space and the need for talking. She could feel him breathing. "_Like you_ like you."

Troy kissed the top of her head, letting his thumb smooth a gentle pattern over her camisole. "Feelings reciprocated."

And she fell back asleep, lulled by the steady rhythm of his heart beat.

/

"Knock knock."

Gabriella looked over to the door, closing her magazine when she saw Kelsi. Her snow day attire consisted of black leggings and a thick, dark green off-the-shoulder sweater that made her cat eyes look vicious. She wasn't in the same spectrum as her best friend regarding clothes, and Kelsi was definitely the only one she would allow to walk around wearing leggings as pants. Because as sad as it was to admit, she knew how to pick the right pair and actually pull it off. _Ugh. This girl_. "Come to borrow some pants?"

"Oh, very funny," Kelsi rolled her eyes, climbing onto the end of Gabriella's bed and taking the magazine from her. She sat cross-legged and placed it in her lap. "I have news."

Didn't she always?

"Pertaining to?" Gabriella asked, looking over at the window. The drawn curtains allowed her to see out into the mess of a quad where snow continued to fall. She wondered if all the snow would affect final exams this week. The things she should be studying for right now instead of reading W.

"You know how Sharpay went over to Stuart last night while we were watching movies?"

Her brown eyes snapped back in the redhead's direction. What was she going to say? It better not be what just popped into her head. Then again every time she saw the two of them canoodling the thought popped into her head. Of course, the two of them having sex certainly would get around. Lily, if anything, would be all over the news. When Brooke and Vince had sex Lily probably knew before they'd even gotten their clothes of. And besides, Troy wouldn't have sex with her for the first time in a dorm room. He was classier than that. Then again he and Tiara had lost their virginity in the woods... Not exactly a room at The Four Seasons. She shuddered at the memory, "Continue."

"She never came home."

She figured that much. "And?"

"She slept with Troy. In his bed." She flipped a page. "There was spooning."

Gabriella grit her teeth. "And?"

"That's all." Kelsi looked up from the magazine. "Don't look at me like that, I didn't say it was interesting news."

Gabriella sat back against her pillows allowing her jean-clad leg to fall over the side of the bed. No, that news was definitely not interesting. It just made her unnecessarily jealous of Sharpay. She looked over at her closed closet doors and smiled. _Soon enough_. "At least that means she didn't get to finish her task... So technically she'll be bumped down to Gregory by next semester. Thank god, I want my old room back."

"Actually," Kelsi corrected, flipping another page and the hair over her shoulder. "Lily granted her leniency on a count of the storm."

"You're kidding me."

"I don't kid." She replied blithely. This was true. She was brutally honest, in fact.

"How are you not angry about this?" Gabriella scoffed, tucking her wavy hair behind her ears and shaking her head. "I didn't get leniency when I had to trek through those godforsaken woods during that heatwave last year. You didn't get leniency when you sprained your ankle trying to steal the-"

Kelsi put a hand up. "I don't want to talk about it."

"None of us got spared, Kelsi, what makes her so special?"

"She doesn't have to be _special_ for Lily to consider her safety. That's her job, Gabriella, she isn't a dictator."

Gabriella smirked. _Fooled me._

"Besides, Blondie was willing to walk back by herself last night. She almost did, in the middle of the snowfall. James had to convince her to stay."

Of course she was willing. Perfectionist Barbie. "How was James involved in this?"

"She had to kiss him..." Kelsi paused and examined her friend's face. No doubt showing her confusion in trying to put the pieces of Sharpay's mission together in her head. "Did you know anything about the task?"

"I'm not exactly Lily's favorite person as of late, if you haven't noticed. I get big picture, not little details."

"Yes, well, you brought that punishment upon yourself."

"Whatever," Gabriella brushed her off, standing up from the bed. It was nearly noon. Lily would be awake now. Ready to get an ear full. "I'm saying something about it.

"Good luck with that." Kelsi sounded as if she was holding back a laugh. She ignored it and left the girl on her bed with the magazine. She took the walk upstairs to Lily's single to prepare her rant. But but by the time she was standing in front of the door, she couldn't remember much of it. The door was open and Gabriella peaked her head into the room. "Lily?"

"Bathroom." Her voice called from the open bathroom door. A second later she emerged, brushing her dark, wet hair down her back. Wearing a white Enza Costa v-neck and a pair of Rag & Bone skinny flare jeans, she looked like more of a model than Kelsi did. Her sapphire eyes were lined carefully with black, making them pop as they examined her reasoning for being in her room. They hadn't exactly had a manicure party lately. And anyway, Gabriella always knew Lily had preferred Tiara over her. Note the Queen Bee status.

Gabriella remembered her reason for being here. And it was not to admire her looks or rehash an underlying grudge. "Permission to speak?"

Lily smirked at her attempt to mock her power. "Granted."

"I heard about Sharpay." That was all she needed to say. Lily the Almighty would certainly know what she was referring to simply by the tone of disdain in her voice. The senior stopped grooming herself and took a breath. "And you've come to express your disapproval for my observance of safety precautions?"

"Since when has safety been an issue when it comes to initiation? Ever?"

"Gabriella, you have lived through one initiation and that would be your own. You have never been an official in the procedure and you do not understand the rules that must be followed when determining an initiation task." The way Lily stared when she was talking down at you was torture. Her blue eyes paralyzed you, and her smooth, enforcing voice let you know exactly who was in charge. Her. Always her.

"I didn't mean to-"

"I know you didn't. Because you don't think. Do you know how much shit I went through when Kelsi pulled her little stunt with Sharpay in the woods back in November? How much convincing I had to do to get the Hale Mothers to allow her to continue to be a part of Hale? No you don't, because you let your emotions get in the way. You lead yourself to believe you have a lot more power than you actually do. For example, you think you have the right to interfere with an official membership test. You think you can slip drugs into a girl's drink and not get caught. You think you are above everyone and that is why you have never been in the running for junior president this year or president next year when I'm forced to step down. Your own friends don't even see you as a leader anymore, so why should you have command?"

Wow. Big wow. Lily clearly wasn't sparing any feelings with that speech. Gabriella's mouth felt dry. What did she mean her 'friends don't even see you as a leader'? Had they talked about her behind her back? Were they talking about who would be president? Who else would it be if not herself? She was junior Queen Bee... She was the one they were all supposed to look up to. If she didn't have Troy, or her friends, or Hale... who was she? "Have you- I mean, you guys talk about me?"

"Well you've given us a lot to talk about lately, Gabriella."

"And by 'us'..."

"I'm referring to Hale. Minus Sharpay."

"She's not even _in_ Hale."

"Not _yet_." Lily emphasized, countering her disapproval.

Gabriella felt something swelling in her throat. No. This was not happening. She looked past Lily and over to the window, where curtains were drawn and all she could see was white. "Martha and Kelsi..."

"Martha has made her stance on you clear, but I don't feel repeating it to you to be very important. And Kelsi has more than made up for her Sharpay mishap by orders from the Hale Mothers. And from what I see, she allows you to think you have more power than she does simply because she is that fierce of a friend. She understands that status is important to you, and you don't even recognize her as an equal as I do Angela and Brooke. What you have failed to recognize is that she is cunning. She is smart and has the gift of persuading information from people much like myself. She's valuable in ways that you are not and she knows it. And it doesn't help that you seem to only prefer using your talents to make people- including them- fear you."

It was amazing Gabriella was able to get any words out, what with all the betrayal and anger and fear running through her mind right now. Lily sat down on the edge of her bed, crossing her legs and Gabriella fought the feeling of sadness from making it to her tear ducts. "Are you saying you don't think people fear you?"

"Oh, I know they fear me." The senior said plainly. "But I also know they love me. There's something called balance and I have it perfected to an art."

"Too bad you overlooked modesty." Gabriella mumbled. Lily smiled. "I don't feel the need to be modest around you. I'm the only one around here who knows how to show you your place."

Oh, she'd been put into place all right. She knew exactly where she stood. With Kelsi. With Martha. With Hale. There was no misunderstanding after hearing Lily speak. It was just a matter of how she was going to fight back. And yes, she planned on fighting back. Hard and vengeful. Without another word she shook her head and walked out of Lily's bedroom. She stood in the hallway for a moment, glancing down at Sharpay, Martha, and Brooke's doors, across at Angela's, and then Kelsi's. Betrayed. A fierce friend? Right. A fierce friend wouldn't be talking about her behind her back. Planning her downfall. Some friend.

She walked back into her room, stopping to stand beside her door. "So," Kelsi blinked up at her from reading an article in the magazine. "How'd it go?"

"Get out."

Her green eyes narrowed in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"I said get out of my room," she elaborated. She stared into the eyes of her friend. Ex-friend. Backstabbing friend. Only friend. She didn't know what to think anymore. "Please."

There was a moment when Kelsi's face showed that she knew exactly what was wrong. Almost like she knew what Lily had told Gabriella. Lily was right. She was a bit like her. She closed the magazine and stood up from the bed without a word. About to leave the room, Kelsi turned and set her green eyes on Gabriella's. "I'm sorry."

Gabriella managed to nod before closing the door behind her. Then she pulled the bathroom door shut, and then slid the closet door open. She wrestled through some of her laundry until she found the small box and sat back on her heels, placing it on her thighs. She shook it a little and heard the separate contents loosely rolling around. Kelsi didn't have anything to be sorry about. Sharpay on the other hand...

/

"Ryan are you really going to try and hide when I'm right behind you?"

"Fuck you, Jason, get off my back!"

"I'm the master, Ry, count the kills!"

"Is this really all you guys do?"

Troy heard the bored tone in Sharpay's voice with his eyes trained carefully on the television screen, which was split into four segments for each player- currently Jason, Vince, Ryan, and himself.

"What would you rather we do, paint our nails?" Jason snickered, leaning forward in the armchair with his elbows on his thighs. You'd think he was actually in the video game. "Talk about boys? _Oh Jason is so cute, how did he get so good look-_ RYAN, YOU CAN'T RUN FROM ME."

"Is that seriously all you guys talk about? Manicures and boys?" Vince asked, eyes darting around the screen as his fingers worked the X-Box controller. He grunted in irritation as Troy threw a grenade in his direction and KillCam overtook his screen.

"No... sometimes we talk about pedicures and shopping." Sharpay smirked next to him as Troy shook his head. He knocked his knee lightly against her foot as she sat curled up next to him on the couch, still in his sweatpants. She kicked him back lightly. "Want to play?" He asked, not removing his eyes from the television. As bad as he felt for making Sharpay sit through this, he was actually very enthralled in the game. Besides, she wouldn't last long. Girls never did.

"I mean, I don't know if I know the controls..." She said innocently. He maneuvered himself into a building and behind half of a destroyed wall and then placed the wireless controller in her hands. She looked at it, confused. It was actually kind of cute. He imagined this is what it would be like if she handed him an eyelash curler. Those things always looked like medieval torture weapons. "This one moves the camera, this one moves you, this one shoots. Try and find Jason."

The brunette laughed out loud. "As if!"

Troy watched as Sharpay stared unsure at the screen. "Which box is mine again?"

"Oh my god." Jason said, starting himself on another breath of laughter. "I'd call her first kill but it'd be way too easy."

"Shut up, Jase." Troy held back a grin. "Top right, Sharpay. Now just- yeah, walk through there.. no no no... okay, now shoot."

"Shoot who?"

"The man with a gun in front of you!"

"I don't see him!"

"It's Jason, he's hiding behind the-" KillCam popped up before Troy could get another word out and Jason merely smirked and continued on with the game. Sharpay frowned, defeated with the controller in her lap. Ryan laughed. "Sharpay, video games? Not your strong suit."

"Can I try one more time?" Sharpay asked, and Troy shrugged his shoulder. Sure. Why not. Let her have some fun. "Go for it."

She smiled and repositioned herself, eyes focused on her corner of the screen. He watched her polished fingers moving the controls, then up to her lips, which she was biting in concentration, and then at the TV. There was a pause in gunfire as all four players searched for one another. And then Troy wasn't really sure what happened next. It involved a grenade and a some colorful language- mostly from Jason- and a long series of gunfire. Vince died, Ryan died, Jason died, and then they all died again. Sharpay's kill streak flashed across the top of her screen and though she died occasionally, always seemed to know which direction to turn and fight back and when to run. +100 and +50 kept flashing in the corner right and this went on for a few minutes until the screen for all for players read 'Defeat! Score limit reached.' Sharpay's, on the other hand, read 'Victory!' Troy turned and stared at her, dumbfounded. Jason seemed to be frozen in place, staring at the screen as if confused what had just happened. Ryan clearly was not expecting the turn of events either, nor was Vince, whose eyes were narrowed down at the controller in his hands. She turned her head feeling Troy's stare and smiled at herself. "My best friend is a guy, Troy, I play these games a lot more than I paint my nails."

"She... Beat me..." Jason's voice sounded hazy, like he was dreaming.

"Bolton. Marry her." Vince said flat out. "Marry her right now."

"James can officiate." Wow. Even Ryan was on board with this. At least he knew their relationship had full support. Not counting a certain ex-Queen over in Hale.

But apparently no one did nowadays.

"I have underestimated you, Blondie." Sharpay blushed and pulled her legs back onto the couch. Jason stood up, controller still in his hand and turned to Sharpay. He slid one arm under her knees and the other under her arms and pulled her into the air as she grabbed onto his shirt for fear of her life. Troy's eyes went wide. He trusted Jason with his own life, but he'd never been beaten by a girl before. Who knows what was going through his head. He could be having a mental breakdown. Troy held out a hand. "Jason-"

"That's it," Jason announced, loud enough for Zeke and Chad to hear from their room on the second floor. He whisked her around the couch, causing Troy and the other two boys to turn as he placed her down at the foot of the steps. Sharpay looked over at Troy, silently begging him with amused eyes to tell him what had gotten into his best friend. Troy smiled and shook his head. He couldn't even take a guess. Jason knelt down, grabbing the hand with the console controller, and said, "Sharpay Evans, with this controller I do thee wed-"

"Alright, Cross-anova, get your own." Troy interrupted, standing up from the couch. By the time he got over to to two of them Jason was reciting his vows. "-and I will never call you a bitch again."

Troy caught Sharpay's eye, luckily she was smiling at all of his confessions. She handed Jason the controller, an almost sad look on her face. "Jason, I appreciate all of these feelings, but unfortunately-" She looked over at Troy through her lashes, and he felt stupid just standing there waiting for her to finish her sentence. "-I've got pretty strong feelings for someone else."

"Is it because I call you Blondie?" Jason shook his head and stood up. "Because I can change."

"It's not you, I promise." Sharpay placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's me."

Jason held the controller to his heart. "Can... Can we still be friends?"

"Of course. It's the least I could do." She pulled her hand back and held it to Troy, and he took it without saying a word. He didn't think he'd ever seen Jason put on such a convincing act. Jason nodded and took a few steps back towards the couch as Troy took a few towards the stairs. "Troy, I love this girl. You take good of her." Troy gave him a sympathetic glance, but Jason just continued, ""If I had to lose her to anyone I'm glad it's you."

As much of a joke as it was, it may have been the nicest thing he'd ever said.

Troy felt a squeeze on his hand and turned back to Sharpay. She tugged him in towards her, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He felt her hands softly ruffling the hair at the back of his neck. Chills. "So who wants to congratulate me on my victory?"

He slid his arms around her back, "I think Jason would do anything right now if you asked him."

"Mm," she nodded indifferently. "Maybe you didn't catch what I said about my feelings."

"No, I heard you pretty clear."

Sharpay's brow creased and she looked down at his lips. "Yeah?"

"Yep."

"And... your response?"

He smirked and leaned towards her, pressing a kiss flush on her lips. Childish whooping from the common room signaled that none of his friends had yet diverted their attention with the X-Box. He pulled away and found her eyes still closed. She blinked them opened, seeming to ignore the chatter from the peanut gallery- including the boy who had just proposed to her. He pulled his hands back to her hips. "I could probably show you better than I could tell you."

"Troy Bolton, you treat her like a queen!" Jason called shamelessly from the couch, controller still in his hand as he outstretched his hand threateningly. Sharpay shook her head and continued pulling him up the stairs by the collar of his shirt. Troy lifted a calming hand in his direction, "I got this man, don't worry."

She pulled him up to the second floor without pause, but stopped on the way to the third to pull him into another kiss as if she didn't have the patience to wait another flight of stairs. That was fine. Neither did he. In fact, they'd probably have continued on against the wall of the staircase had Zeke not been walking down to fill his spot in Modern Warfare. He merely gave the pair an approving smirk. After that they sort of rolled up the stairs, pulling hair and cotton and pretty much ignoring all common decency and safety precautions for being on a flight of stairs until they'd slid into Troy's bedroom. He pushed the door shut behind him with his free hand, locking the door by instinct, the other occupied around Sharpay's back to see to it that any space between them was nonexistent.

Sharpay pulled him away from the door by tugging at the waistband of his basketball shorts. Glad to know they were on the same page here. "At least we don't have to worry about Jason interrupting."

"After professing his love for you, I think I'm the only one who has to worry."

She pulled away and looked into his eyes and Troy could almost feel how deep the emotion was through her dilated pupils. She placed her hands on either side of his face. "Trust me, you don't." She smiled softly and drew her finger around the outline of his ear. How was it that she knew exactly where to touch him for him to soften like butter? "You don't have to worry about anyone. Ever."

He grinned, unable to tear his eyes away from the brown of her irises. She was, without doubt, the more sincere girl he had ever had the pleasure to meet. Be with. _Be with _be with. And it was indeed a pleasure. Never had he enjoyed himself as much as he did when he was with Sharpay. Tiara... Tiara was another story. Tiara was Sharpay's opposite. Not to say that he hadn't loved her because that would be an obvious lie. He'd probably always be in love with her. But at the rate his feelings were continually increasing for Sharpay, it was hard to say if he and Tiara's love could compare. Was this to say that he was in love with Sharpay? He wasn't very sure, but waking up to her eyes and staring into them right at this moment, he'd say he was pretty damn close.

"So a session of Charisma with Cross has not swayed you to leave me alone?"

"I don't think I could handle letting you be alone. I like you way," Kiss. "Too," Kiss. "Much," she admitted, her smile growing wider before she reached up to kiss him again, taking no prisoners. How many times could he succumb to her lips before he was mentally incapable of not kissing them at every moment of the day? "But he did give you orders, you know."

"You're right, how rude of me." Troy apologized, bending his knees just enough to slide his hands under her thighs. Her response included a short melodious giggle and a trail of kisses from his ear to his collar of his shirt. He debated whether or not putting her down was a good idea, and decided nay due to his limited range of touch in said position. He placed her down at the edge of his bed, hands posted at either side of her torso, and kissed her lightly. "So how exactly does one treat a Queen?"

"I don't know," she started, tilting her chin up to catch his lips again. "We could go ask Gabriella."

They had a better chance outrunning a cheetah.

Troy shook his head and kissed her. "You're much more a Queen than she is."

She smoothed her hands over his chest, "How about we don't talk about the girl who wants me to disappear?"

He tucked her hair behind her ear, "How about we don't talk at all?"

/

"Better plan." Sharpay agreed, sliding back on the mattress and pulling him anxiously down on top of her. Her hands bunched at the front of his shirt while his lips worked magic against hers. She lifted one arm around his neck, keeping him close while her hand ruffled his hair. It made her kind of nervous, knowing that someone wasn't going to interrupt them just as one of them started shifting into another gear. And with past experience, that one would probably be her due to her inability to control her hormonal impulses when she was touching Troy. There never seemed to be enough skin touching his. Troy, on the other hand, was the perfect example of will power. He seemed totally content keeping his hands confined to the skin outlining her camisole. Sharpay? Not satisfied. It was like she had the Y-chromosome in this relationship.

Too bad they'd agreed to stop the conversation. Looks like she'd just have to lead him in the right direction. Like Troy had said, she could show him better than she could tell him. She placed a hand over his, guiding it up to her chest. _You can touch me Troy, I'm not gonna bite you_. Luckily he didn't protest and left his hand where she'd positioned it before trailing her nails up his arm, over his bicep and to the back of his neck. But there was only so much single position making out you can do before it becomes mundane. And since Troy didn't seem to be going anywhere, it looked like Sharpay was going to be playing the role of dominator this afternoon.

Sharpay pushed herself up with her elbows, ushering Troy to roll over onto his back without falling off of the extra long twin bed. She paused a moment, sitting back on his hips and tilting her head. Thankfully despite lack of preparation for this situation, her choice in under garments weren't going to be a problem. A girl can never go wrong with a Victoria's Secret push-up bra. Clearly. Because while she pulled her top over her head, his blue eyes were graciously trained on her every movement, taking in every inch of her. She dropped her shirt off the side of the bed and placed her fingers over the hem of his, slowly crawling over his skin. She managed to push it up to his chest until he sat himself up partially and then kept her hands on his skin, watching and feeling the muscles work underneath as he pulled the shirt off.

Completely incapable of being anything besides the cutest boy in the world, he pushed tousled hair from her face and behind her ear before taking her jaw and pulling their faces together. She leaned back into him, kissing him deeply as their bodies slowly rotated until her head was against his pillow again and his body was on top of hers. His skin was hot and pressed against hers and it was her favorite type of warmth and she was quickly becoming way too overheated in Troy's baggy sweatpants. She ran her hands along his side, feeling Troy pull his lips away as she felt around his waistline. His forehead touched hers and she reluctantly blinked open her eyes.

/

She had that same look on her face that she always had at this point in the routine. It was a mixture of hurt and some strain of disappointment. He hated that look. It was in the top five of his least favorite looks. Number one was when Rosa had made the mistake of calling her Tiara back at his room in Manhattan. He had practically seen her mind dissolve through her glistening eyes. That was one look he wanted to make sure was never put on her face again. Not for any reason. And especially not because of him.

"Sharpay, I-" Troy started, sighing at his own words, "-we can't. Not here." Sharpay blinked up at him a few times and swallowed whatever it was that was lodged in her throat. Sadness? Nervousness? Relief? He brushed her bangs away from her face and shook his head slowly, "It doesn't feel right."

"But it felt right having sex in the middle of a forest with Tiara."

Well then, don't beat around the bush, tell me how you _really_ feel.

Troy's forehead creased reflexively. He wasn't sure what he was more uncomfortable with: Sharpay knowing about he and Tiara having sex in the woods or having her bring it up so casually in conversation. Probably the latter. Most definitely the latter. He pushed himself away into a seated position, scratching the back of his neck. Sharpay lifted her hands and covered her face, shaking her head at herself. "I'm so sorry."

"It's-"

"No, it's not fine." She moved her hands, covering her chest and that miraculous bra of hers. He reached down to the floor and grabbed for his shirt, which he placed over her arms. She readjusted her arms, smiling pitifully in thanks. She reached out, fingers landing on his knee. "It was unwarranted. I'm sorry."

"I accept your apology," he responded, looking at the sad look still on her face. She felt more sorry than she should have, it's not like Troy's whole heart just exploded or anything. Maybe just a little piece. The piece deep down that still held onto Tiara, that would never go away. Once you've loved someone you can't really cast them out. And he didn't exactly want to. Which was fine as long as he knew he could differentiate his feelings. He looked down at her hand on his knee and drew over her fingers. "We were together for two years, Sharpay."

"You're just not... ready? I can deal with not ready, Troy."

"That's not it." He lifted his eyes and she pulled her hand back to inch up against the backboard, holding the shirt in place under her arms. For a moment he wondered if he should look away to give her a chance to actually put it on. But instead the two sat silently looking at each other. She was probably waiting for him to elaborate. "I want it, Sharpay. I want _you_. But not in my dorm room with our friends across the hall."

She nodded, a smile finally appearing. "I should have figured as much. Mister Tall, Dark, and Chivalrous."

"Mm, I'm not that dark."

"But you more than make up for it in chivalry. Trust me." She smirked and straightened out her leg, brushing it against his. He rested a hand over her calf and looked up at her. "I just want it to be as perfect as you. It takes some planning."

"Ignoring your comment on me being perfect." She blushed and he watched her try and force the rosy color to dispel from her smooth cheeks. He thought about fighting her on the statement but let her continue. "I shouldn't be expecting anything sexually relevant while we're still at school?"

"Well, final exams are Thursday and Friday," he started, rearranging himself on the bed to lay on his stomach, taking one of her hands in his. "And the Gala on Friday night signals the last day of the semester."

"Are you hinting something?" She asked, a small smile playing on her lips. He merely tilted his head. "Do you _want _me to be hinting something?"

"You want me to."

"I do?"

"Yes."

"You sure?"

"Troy Bolton, don't play this game with me."

"Sharpay Evans, I thought we were having a serious conversation."

"Troy?" She asked, smiling and leaning towards him. He raised an eyebrow. She kissed him square on the mouth. She pulled back slightly, her nose practically touching his. "Shut up."

He grinned as she leaned her forehead against his. "You're not irritated with me?"

"That you won't have sex with me because you're too romantic?" She kissed him again. "I can do without it, Troy, I'm not an addict." She ran her fingers through his hair and back around to his jawline and he watched her eyes smile. She smiled a little wider, a different type of smile as she pecked his lips and swung herself off the bed. "If I were your boxers, where would I be?"

She walked over to his dresser, opening the top drawer. Troy stood up, curious, scratching his side. Was she serious? "Dare I ask why?"

"Jason and them don't _know_ we been up here not love making or whatever."

_Love_. She said it. She said it first. Write it in the records.

But he wasn't over-analyzing.

"Yes, and you're," he paused, catching her pull out a pair of blue plaid boxers. She turned and looked him in the eye, seemingly innocent for a girl who just went on a mini boxer raid. "Planning on using those as a trophy to make them believe we have been?

She smirked, "I think we could have some fun with this."

/

"You can practice all you want, you're never gonna beat me, Jason."

"On the contrary, my dear, I have-" Jason did a slow double- no triple- take at Sharpay's attire, pausing the game without even looking down. A long sleeved white t-shirt under an unzipped hoodie and pair of navy Burberry boxers that hung somewhat loose on her hips. Sharpay didn't even know Burberry _made _underwear. A knowing smirk crossed his lips and he sank back in his chair, kicking his feet onto the wooden coffee table. "Well well well. What do we have here?"

Sharpay leaned back slyly against Troy and he slipped his fingers into hers, playing along as he kissed the top of her head and asked, "Care to elaborate that?"

Ryan turned to look, eyes running over Sharpay. Troy's boxers. "Boxers, Sharpay? Very low key. Way to keep it under the radar."

"At least I had the decency to put them on," she countered, recalling the time the red-head had walked in through the bathroom wearing only Ryan's shirt.

"Watch yourself," Ryan warned, his voice teasing and protective.

"Oh, you frisky teenagers." Jason grinned, amusing himself as he readjusted his position in the armchair. "Ryan, you should know she's dressed like that to claim territory. She's like a blonde... tan... jungle cat."

"I'm taking that as a compliment."

He inclined his head, "Only the best for you, _mi amore_. Too bad Gabriella's not around to witness."

"Real shame," Sharpay mumbled, feeling Troy squeeze her hands. Jason turned back to his game and Ryan followed. A loud vibrate on the table between the boys and the television momentarily distracted the blonde and he looked down, looked back to the screen and said, "Sharpay, phone."

She'd forgotten she'd left it down here. Actually, she hadn't really looked at her phone since waking up. Being with Troy she hadn't felt the need to text or pass time with one of her apps. It was probably Jimmie calling to wonder why she hadn't answered his daily "Morning Beautiful" texts. The ones he'd sent her every day since they could both text. Sharpay had seen it in a movie they'd both watched together, one of the romantic comedies she'd aways drag him to when they were bored and would walk down to the movie theatre in town. After that movie he promised he'd never let a day go by without texting her good morning. Of course, it wasn't always beautiful. It started out 'best friend' and ranged about everywhere from 'Lovely' to 'Shar'. You could always tell his mood that day by which greeting he used.

He picked up the phone for her, still focused on the video game and held it to the side for her. Troy kissed her head once more and she smiled before escaping his grasp and taking the vibrating phone in her hand. She looked down and saw a name but no picture to accompany it. Only the screen saver background of she and Troy's faces pressed together.

"Lily?" Sharpay answered by way of greeting. Troy looked at her, curious but she just shrugged. She'd never talked to Lily on the phone before. It felt like Jennifer Aniston was calling her. "Um.. hi.."

"Are the boys playing video games?"

"Are the-"

"_Shh_. Answer without repeating."

"Yes." She stepped away from the boys in the common room, moving down the wide hallway and into the semi-closed off mock kitchen area. Complete with fridge, Keurig machine, microwave, and pantry. It worked out for times like this when you were completely cut off from the cafeteria. She leaned against the wall."Why?"

"Because time is running out on your clock and I need you to do something involving that key

"I need you to give Troy the key."

"What?"

"The key that James slipped you last night? You need to leave it somewhere Troy will find it. I've handled the rest."

"Handled what?"

"You'll find out soon enough, I'm sure, since it looks like you'll be spending the night again. The snow's really made it difficult for me to come up with a way to speed this process along. This wasn't supposed to be your task."

"I wasn't supposed to kiss James?" The memory overcame her and she felt nervous all over again. Lily's voice was unaffected, however. Cool and collected as always. "No, that was. But the key's been given a new purpose. It was tough, yes, seeing as James mentioned its existence to Troy last night- while you were sleeping I'm guessing- but it shouldn't be a problem. You'll be fine. He won't put two and two together... not at first anyway. He'll have a lot more on his mind to think about."

Sharpay walked over to the small window and moved the curtain to find the snow had picked up again, adding the sheet that the groundskeepers had yet to remove from last night. She turned and looked at the half-wall where she could see Troy and the others staring at the flat screen and tossing insults for fun at each other. A whole new wave of nerves kicked in. "What happens after I leave it out for him?"

"There wouldn't be much suspense if I told you, now would there?" _Figured. Same cryptic messages._ "Just remember that this is still part of the task. The key doesn't open up a field full of daisies. In fact, it's much more in the opposite direction."

Yep. Same, terrifying, cryptic messages.

/

"So was it better than with Tiara? Or just different? Obviously it's different, I mean you and Ti had sex all up against a tree or however. You never really told me how that worked out. Here you've got a nice little set up though. Decent bed. Designer sheets. Fluffy pillows. I can see it. Unless you guys went crazy and just couldn't control yourselves any longer and didn't even make it to the bed. Do you have floor burn? Dude, I got the worst floor burn when I was with Lauren Bale. In retrospect, no worth it, but I digress..."

"Jason," Troy laughed, sitting back on his bed with his phone in his hands. Sharpay was downstairs studying with Ryan for a final they had on Thursday. He and Jason had planned on quizzing each other on some Chem notes, but neither of them had made a move for any of the necessary study supplies. And yet somehow they were at the top of their class. "Wait- I thought you were with Lauren Murray, not Lauren Bale."

"Made out with Murray last Halloween. Hooked up with Bale in the beginning of the year."

"Such a hard life you lead."

Jason outstretched his hands, giving a modest nod. "I get by. Now let's go, Romeo, details."

"J, I'm not gonna-"

"Best friends, Troy. You and me. If she sucked... in either the literal or metaphorical sense..."

"_Jason_." Troy said in a low command to stop that sentence there and now. His roommate's shoulders shrugged and as usual during this topic, he didn't seem ashamed. "What?"

"If she... did that, I wouldn't tell you."

"I told you about Pamela Halston. I think that gives me some rights."

"Can we just... not have this conversation right now?" Troy asked, wanting to divert Jason's attention

"Fine fine. Can you tell me anything."

"No, I cannot."

"But _why?"_ He asked, but Troy looked down at his phone again, ignoring the question and answering a BBM instead. After a moment- too long a moment- Jason's voice sounded suspicious and Troy knew instantly he'd figured it out. Took him long enough. "You didn't even _have_ sex, did you?"

Oh well, fun's over. ...if that's what you'd call it. "Nope, not today."

"Jesus, why _not_?" Jason drawled, clapping his hands down on his legs. "The tension between you two is so big it might soon develop its own gravitational pull."

"Funny."

"I'm serious. Was it you or her?"

"Me." Troy looked up from his phone. "She wanted to, I just can't... I don't know, something about doing it in the dorm, just-"

Jason looked incredulous. As if Troy had just said he slept in a bathtub instead of a bed. "Where do you think the rest of us go? The library?"

"Jason."

"Troy." Jason mocked, standing up from his bed. He put his phone on his desk and messed with his hair a bit. "She's done it before, you've done it before. I admire your approach but you don't have to be Mr. Perfect Boyfriend about everything."

"She brought up me and Tiara."

This seemed to surprise him though, and he turned to look at him, "Oh yeah? Blondie's got balls."

There was definite resistance as he tried not to roll his eyes. He let out a breath. "She knew about the woods."

"No shit."

"Mm. So I texted Kelsi."

"And?"

"And apparently girls talk about that crap in the locker room at The Center," Troy breathed, falling onto his back and stretching his arms up in front of him. "Gabriella brought it up. Probably trying to shake her or something."

"Ah, females." His roommate started, almost sing-song, "So different from us males yet so very similar."

"Please drop the comedy for a mere moment. I know it's difficult."

"Well, dude, it's not like you can blame her for the curiosity." Jason rationalized, "the only thing bigger than Gabriella's superiority complex is the enigma that is Tiara Gold. It's only natural for her to ask about her."

"I understand that, I just... rather she'd ask me. I'm the one who dated her."

"And they're the ones who lived with her. They may not know what her mouth tastes like but they know just as much. Which, you know, in Tiara terms is little to none."

Troy scratched the back of his neck, knowing how true this was. As much as he wanted to say he knew everything about Tiara he just couldn't. Sure, they had talked and had heart-to-heart-like conversations but she was very selective about her topics. A bit about her mom and dad. A bit more about her step-dad, Michael, only because they'd spent the week at his St. Bart's villa last year. And Troy knew what she liked and she didn't like better than anything, he'd like to think. Those were her favorite things to talk about. _I love so-and-so. I hate when so-and-so does so-and-so like a such-and-such. I really like mint gelato. I don't like the mint gelato from that restaurant we went to last night. I don't like when it's that cold. I like how my mom calls me once a week. I don't like when my mom calls me right after dinner. She should just call me around lunch, right before we got to the library to start our homework. _He had always just attributed it to her personality. She knew what she liked, and he had liked that about her. But thinking back on it now- very annoying.

"I guess so," he mumbled. What else could he say?

"You'll be fine. Just stop over-thinking it." He turned and grabbed a towel off of the top of his dresser. It was crumpled up but Troy knew it was clean. Jason only kept his room unkempt as natural rebellion against his mother, who valued a clean presentation more than anything. Not that Mrs. Cross ever came for a visit. Except around his birthday or during campaigns. "I'm gonna shower, man. You good?"

He looked up and nodded, standing up from the bed. "Yeah, I'm alright," he said, turning towards his desk. Maybe he'd study for chemistry while Sharpay and Ryan were working on their AP Calc. Finals week was definitely one of the more beneficial times of not taking the advanced placement class. He had three this semester, sure, but still. Less stress for him. He grabbed his book and heard something hit the hardwood floor as he picked it up. He lifted the miniature brass key into his hand and examined it, placing his book back on the desk. He was almost positive he hadn't left it there. Whatever. He'd ask someone later. He opened up the top drawer and dropped the key in without looking, surprised when he heard a hollow '_clunk_'.

Troy pulled the slim box from the drawer, looking around for any other object that might pop up out of nowhere without explanation. The box was a little wood thing that was rectangular and looked like the sort of something a girl would hide a diary in. Fitting, seeing at there was a small key hole keeping the box locked shut. Lucky a key had appeared on his desk moments before, huh? He fished the key from the desk drawer and turned the lock. No wonder the thing was so light, it only held a piece a off-white letter paper. He wasn't sure if he should be curious or worried.

Folded once only to make it fit within the contents of the small box, he opened the crease and felt the pale of his skin overtake his entire face. It was an unnatural and involuntary reaction as he read over the string of words and felt his heart beat slow to an uncomfortable pace, almost like time was moving slower the longer he stared at the handwriting in front of him. Six syllables. Two sentences. One signature.

Curious? Worried? How about completely drained of emotion?

"James!" Troy yelled, just loud enough to reach out into the hallway where his voice would no doubt reach James' open door. When there was no response he yelled the name out again, louder. Ever curious, Jason opened the door of the bathroom, half undressed as Troy placed the box on his desk. "What's the haps?"

Troy turned, the note in his hand. Jason's green eyes registered the ghastly expression on his face just as James walked in. He looked over at the open bathroom door and then over to Troy. He raised an eyebrow and leaned against the doorframe. "Inside voice, Bolton."

_No_. This was no time for clever commands. This was no time for anything except a fucking explanation. And a really, really good one. He took a few steps towards the senior, whose face began to mimic Jason's. "Want to tell me where the fuck this came from?"

He straightened up as Troy held the note in between them. Probably shocked at the language that had just come from his mouth, especially directed at James. Troy shook it once, demanding someone explain why the fuck this too-familiar, girlishy-messy handwriting was in his grasp right now.

_I miss you. See you soon. -T._


	31. Something True

James' face remained collected as his hazel eyes scanned over the line of handwriting once. Twice. A third, just to make sure. Troy looked over to Jason, who apparently ditched his idea to shower after all the mysterious excitement. Not exciting to Troy, of course, not even close. He took the paper from James as he held it out and Jason's jaw dropped, easily recognizing the handwriting. He looked up to Troy. "Is she serious?"

"She's Tiara." James said simply, taking the note back and scanning it over again, as if he was trying to find some secret message as he had with the note Lily had given Sharpay.

Sharpay.

Shit.

She was down in the common room right now, completely unaware of all the drama unfolding upstairs. She wouldn't be leaving tonight, not with the snow falling the way it was. The groundskeepers had clearly taken a snow day themselves. Lazy. He wondered if they'd push back finals because there was no in-class study time. But no, they couldn't do that. The Gala was Friday and that always meant last day of school before winter holiday. The dance he would be attending with Sharpay. He closed his eyes and visualized the conversation the two of them would have to have at some point, probably tonight. He had to tell her. If he tried to hold this in he would probably explode with confusion and anxiety.

_She missed me? _If she missed, she'd have called. Wrote. Texted. E-mailed. Instant messaged. Sent a fucking carrier pigeon, for Christ's sakes. And how soon was '_soon'_? Would he wake to her sitting at his desk tomorrow? Would she pop in Friday at the White-Gold Gala? Would she wait until after Christmas? He thought he'd been rid of her mind games when she'd disappeared last summer. Old habits die hard. At least she didn't sign the note with a casual "Love you, T". He'd probably be going completely insane right now.

As opposed to the partial insanity currently consuming his mind.

"Tell me you did not put that in my room," Troy demanded an answer, opening his eyes and looking straight at James. The senior lifted his eyes and blinked. _No fucking way_. Troy shook his head slowly. "Son of a-"

"I was given an order, Bolton." He explained, calm but seemingly sincere- James always spoke slowly when he was trying to tell you a harsh truth. As if it softened the blow.

Not even a little.

"From Tiara?"

"I haven't spoken to Tiara and you know that." Troy took in a deep breath through his nose and let it out, nodding. James continued, "Stuart fathers. She must have given them... I don't know, something of importance in return for their silence on her location. They merely gave me the box, Troy. As a messenger I don't get told what's inside the package. You know the game."

"Check Mate to the fathers, then." Jason said, folding his arms over his bare chest. "What's the plan of action?"

"Don't know yet," James replied, handing the note to Troy and immediately pulling out his Blackberry. All business. Like a good friend. Like a good Stuart brother. "I'll ask Lily if she knew anything."

"If she knew why would she hide it?" Troy asked as James held his phone to his ear. He shrugged, waiting for the dial tone. Not even a few seconds passed before he greeted her with, "True or false, you knew Tiara penned the note."

"False." Lily's voice answered calmly and without hesitation as James put the call on speaker. As if she knew, she addressed the room, "Troy?"

"Yes."

"What'd it say?"

The message was burned into his mind. A mental photograph of her handwriting lazered into his retinas. "Miss you. See you soon."

There was a pause, and James narrowed his eyes. It was strange how well the two of them could read each other so well. If there was such a thing as a soul mate, Troy was pretty sure James and Lily were the example. "You know something."

There was the sound of a door shutting, probably Lily finding seclusion in her own room. "I know everything."

"Moore," Troy found himself saying sternly. He'd had enough ambiguous messages for one night. Lily clucked her tongue, "Feisty feisty, Bolton."

Troy reached for the Blackberry and James placed it in his hand, he took it off speaker and brought it to his ear. "Elaborate and you'll receive compliance in return."

Jason made a whipping motion with his hand and a sound effect to match. James rolled his eyes. Lily probably did the same on the other end of the line. "I don't know specifics. It was the fathers involved, not the mothers. I only knew enough to..." she paused, searching for the correct phrasing, "Do my part."

"Which was?"

"You know I can't-"

"_Bullshit_, Lily." Troy couldn't control the volume of his voice anymore. He was going to be given answers and he was going to get them now. He'd stay on the phone all night if he had to. He turned away from his friends and took a few steps towards his desk where the box still sat, he dropped the paper back inside of it, irritated. "This is me. This is _Tiara_. Put the secrecy aside for a minute and tell me where my girlfriend is because I _know_ that you know."

"Bolton," Jason called from behind him. Probably to get him to chill out. Not happening.

When Lily didn't answer after a few moments, Troy pried further. "Lily. You know. You've probably known since the day she disappeared. Tell me where she is." More silence. He tilted his head back and pinched his fingers over his closed eyelids. "I love her, Lil. Please, I just need to know."

"Troy," he called again. Still not happening.

Lily finally sighed, giving in to his pathetic plea. "Last I heard she was in New York. She was visiting her father in late October. Probably stuck around until Halloween."

Troy shook his head at the news. New York. Her apartment in New York that was only blocks away from his own. Where he had been only weeks ago. This was a joke. This was all a fucking joke. A joke in the worst sense of the word- a lie. "Do you think she's really coming back?"

"Troy!" Jason called, louder this time.

"What!" Troy exclaimed, turning on his heel to look directly into a pair of glossy brown eyes standing next to his best friend. The look shot instantly to the top of his Least-Favorite-Sharpay-Looks list. The brown eyes blinked and disappeared as she gave a small, sad- almost understanding- smile, turned and fled the room. Troy's breathing went shallow as he lowered the Blackberry from his ear, eyes moving over to Jason. He gave a sad shrug with the shoulder that had just been inches from Sharpay.

"Tried to warn you."

/

Sharpay's back found a hard wall and she clapped her hands over her mouth in an attempt to stop herself from losing it. She slid down to the floor, closing her eyes and convincing herself Gabriella had drugged her into a nightmare-filled coma. _He loves her. Troy still loves Tiara. He doesn't love me_. She heard rushed footsteps stop short as they took in her curled position mere feet from Troy and Jason's open bedroom door. No voice. Just a hand touching her arm which she shrugged off reflexively. Angrily. Hurt.

"Don't."

"Sharpay, I-"

"Love Tiara." She said, voice cracking despite her will to try and control it. She dropped her hands and looked at Troy's guilty expression, his face wrinkled in pain as if he had hurt himself. She didn't care at all right now. "Yeah, I heard."

He shook his head, "You don't understand."

"Don't understand the words I heard come straight from your mouth without hesitation? You fed me lies, Troy, mainlined them right into my brain." With that she stood, still dressed in his clothes. He stood up just as quickly, eyes never leaving hers. "I didn't lie to you."

"And the lies continue..."

"Sharpay." He repeated, reaching for her arm, but she just stood there. Not pulling away but not making the move to show how his touch affected her. "I never lied to you."

"'_Loved. I loved her'_. Those were your words, Troy, _your_ words. You sat in front of me, held my hands, looked me in the eyes and _lied_."

She softly pulled her arm away as he paused, mouth opening a few times while he tried to plan his next sentence carefully. All she wanted to do was trek back across the quad and sleep in her own bed. She didn't want to be anywhere near Troy right now let alone have to sleep inches next to him in his bed. Screw that. Why bother being close when he was professing his love for another girl. He swallowed something in his throat- regret? She didn't care to find out, she turned and started back towards the stairs. Surely there was an empty room on the second floor. He repeated, "You don't understand."

"No," Sharpay agreed, turning to face him again. "I don't. Please, try and help me to."

"I-I just-" he stammered, face twisted with the confusion of how to explain to the girl he was dating that he was still in love with the girl he used to. The girl he said he was over. The girl he said he didn't love anymore. So much for that.

"-am a liar," she whispered, for fear her voice would crack again. She didn't want to be weak. He always saw her weak, which didn't help her case when she said she didn't want him to treat her as such. She turned around just in time to hide the tears simultaneously falling from both eyes, she lifted a hand, covered in his sweatshirt and caught them before he could see them glistening as she walked down the staircase.

Sharpay didn't know where to go, confined to the walls of Stuart. She wasn't ready to go back down to Ryan just yet, so she stopped on the second floor and walked down the hallway. She hadn't been on this floor very much... maybe once to talk to Zeke, but that was pretty much the extent of it. Two seniors had singles in the north of the building facing the quad, Zeke and Chad shared the room closest to the staircase. She passed their closed door- locked inside studying for finals, supposedly- and walked all the way to the end of the hallway, slipped into the empty room and closed the door behind her quietly. She leaned her back against the wall, closed her eyes and knocked her head against the wood once, twice. No use. The thoughts wouldn't die.

But Troy lied. And if there was a quality Sharpay couldn't tolerate in a person it was lying. Especially straight to her face. She unzipped his hoodie and tossed it at the desk as she walked towards the bed, grasping her iPhone she'd pulled from the pocket. She didn't know what she was feeling right now but she knew she didn't want to feel Troy on her right now. Shocking, right? She pulled the white shirt off of her torso and threw it as well. She'd keep the boxers on. God forbid he come in trying to explain himself, she didn't want to distract him. That'd just be rude. She slid under the two sheets folded on the pre-made bed. They used the empty single rooms in Hale and Stuart as a home for over-night prospective students. Probably to get the kid to want to come and make their parents shell out the $38,000+ tuition. Nobody tells them the student has minimal to no chance at getting into those houses- segregation is supposed to be illegal on school grounds. But since the teachers are paid off, it's safe to assume Dean Lucas is, too. Probably the school board as well, who knows. Sharpay still didn't even know how _she_ got in.

She stared at the wall on the opposite side of the room as the sheets formed a protective barrier around her, all the way up to her neck. She snuck an arm out and unlocked her phone scrolling through her music. When she left Albuquerque she'd made a sort of 'broken heart' playlist. Pathetic, yes, but there hadn't been much to do on the plane over to JFK. She shuffled the playlist and reached over to set it back on the small table. She readjusted the covers and pressed her cheek into the pillow.

_When you're dreaming with a broken heart _

_The waking up is the hardest part _

_You roll outta bed and down on your knees _

_And for the moment you can hardly breathe _

"You know I caught Troy with this on his iTunes in September. Teased him mercilessly."

Sharpay lifted her eyes from the pillowcase, dried tears had washed away the remains of her eye makeup on her face. God only knew what she must have looked like. Jason looked around the room, pulled the desk chair a little closer to the bed she was curled into and sunk into a slouch. "Troy's a lot stronger than he looks."

"You mean he hit you?"

He nodded and smoothed a hand over his jaw, probably where Troy's fist had made contact. Gee, she was just learning oodles about him tonight. "Proud to say I popped his fist cherry. Though, not the most appropriate metaphor seeing as he's the one who popped me." Despite her sadness she felt a small smile come to her face and she shook her head twice. He held out his hands, "She smiles."

It dropped that quickly, "Don't get used to it."

"Come on, Blondie."

"I thought you weren't gonna call me Blondie anymore? Said so when you proposed."

"I'll call you whatever you want if you let Troy talk to you." Sharpay turned her face into the strange pillow, unwilling to listen anymore. "Sharpay."

That did it, she wasn't sure he'd ever called her by her first name before. She turned to face him again, and he was leaning forward with his elbows on his thighs. "I think I heard enough of him talking."

He shook his head, "You don't know what you heard."

"Oh, is that so? You're telling me he doesn't love Tiara?"

"Of course he loves Tiara, Sharpay. Any idiot could see that." He pushed himself off of the chair and sat at the edge of the bed Sharpay was lying on, trying to protect herself from the cruel world by bundling under the covers. Wasn't working out as well as she'd hoped. "But you're not an idiot. You're smart. I know that, Troy knows that-"

"Jason," she whispered.

"-just like you know you love him."

Fohawked-best-friend-of-the-heart-breaker-upstairs say wha?

She swallowed something in her throat and bit the inside of her cheek. "And you know this, how?"

"I just do." He affirmed, reaching for her phone and turning her iPod off. He placed it back on the bedside table and examined the tear stains on her face. "Because otherwise you wouldn't be so upset. You've been trying so hard to pretend it isn't true that it completely backfired... leaving you here... listening to John Mayer by yourself."

"I haven't been pretending-" She started, cut off by the amused, know-it-all grin he was giving her. "I know he really likes me... he's _told _me that, but now that I know he lies to me..." She closed her eyes and rubbed her hands over them, half-expecting Jason to interrupt her but he didn't. He just waited. for her to sort out her thoughts. She appreciated him more as the day went on. "I don't want to say it and have him not feel it back."

"You don't have to worry about that. You must know he already loves you because I do. But part of him is stuck in Tiara-land. If you knew how much he..." He let a breath out and bit back a small grin, almost like he was reminiscing about a happy memory. "The last girl he loved disappeared on him, okay? Disconnected her phone, stopped going to her own house, everything. She just completely ignored him and he still has to live with all of that. He went through a depression, Sharpay, the real kind. The five month long kind. Want to know who came along and pulled him out?"

"You?" Jason shook his head and Sharpay shook her head right back. She didn't believe him. "No... No, I didn't-"

"Yes you did. I like to think I tried harder than anyone, but in the end you have to take the credit. He's different now... with you. Good different." Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek and felt herself overcome with happy thoughts of Troy. How his arms felt wrapped around her when she woke up. How she'd look up and find him already staring. He was different, yes. Different than she thought he was. Because she never thought he would be the one to lie to her. "You know that key James gave you last night? The one I'm guessing Lily told you to give to Troy?"

A blush crept up her neck and she snapped out of her haze. "How'd you-"

"I'm more than just a pretty face, Blondie. Just like you except admittedly more clever. Plus, Lily didn't make it too tough a code to crack." She looked up at the ceiling, not enjoying hearing the truth even though she knew it's what she needed. "It unlocked something... a note. From her." She swallowed the lump in her throat. She could close her ears right now. She could hide under the covers until he stopped talking. "You didn't know Troy when he was part of 'Troy and Tiara'. If you had been, maybe you'd understand what she put him through when she disappeared. He's good with putting away the feelings, more so since you came along, but they're still there. They _really_ loved each other... that's not just going to disappear because she did."

"I'm not saying I want him to push those feelings away, I'm fine with them. I'm fine with him having a past I just... wish I didn't have to contend against her."

Jason didn't object to this. He knew it was true. He knew there was the possibility that Tiara could come back at any time and Troy's feelings could snap right back to before Sharpay had attended Eastwood. It could happen over break... it happen tomorrow. Maybe that's what the note said, and that's why he was reclaiming his love for her. She pushed herself up, ready to drill Jason on the details of the-

"Okay, wow. You're not wearing a shirt."

She looked down and her jaw dropped as if she had just remembered she had taken off Troy's shirt and thrown it at the desk in her pitiful rage. "Sorry. I got-"

He put a hand up, silencing her before removing his own shirt and handing it to her. "Put it on, I can't have a meaningful conversation with you when you're wearing the same bra Adriana Lima was in the last catalog. By the way, Jason approved."

"Jason. Eyes." She rolled her own and pulled his t-shirt over her head. She got a whiff of cologne, sensing the difference scent from Troy's usual choice. Not that she cared about Troy's cologne right now. Tiara had probably picked it out. Ugh. This girl. Sharpay had never even met her and she was being haunted by her at every turn. Jason wasn't smirking like he normally would. This was weird. Maybe even a little scary. "What did the note say?" He didn't answer, and it made her nervous. "Jason. What did it say?"

"We think..." Jason started, looking like a doctor whose family he was about to give difficult information to. "We think Tiara might be coming back to Eastwood."

"You _think_? What did the note say, 'Hey boyfriend, I think maybe I might be coming back to school?'"

"It said she'd see him soon, which doesn't exactly give us a clear time frame. And it didn't say anything in regards to their relationship status... Is that what the real problem is?" He asked, examining her eyes for the truth. It was kind of like the look Troy had on his face when he was trying to figure out when something was wrong. She felt her lip involuntarily quivering and that tickle in the corner of her eyes. No. She didn't want to cry anymore. But of course her feelings cared not and sent a few tears sliding down her cheeks. Jason let out a breath and Sharpay felt her forehead taking cover against his now shirtless torso as he outstretched his arm. She'd always thought Jason was sort of a tool. She liked Real-Jason. He was sweet, proving he knew how to be funny without being an asshole. Oh god, what was she saying? This was Jason after all. "I can't compete with her."

He rubbed her shoulder, his jaw near the side of her face. "So stop trying to."

She shook her head, "You make it sound so easy. She could come back at any time, you read the note. She could take him away from me. I couldn't handle... I don't _want_ that."

"And you think he does?" Jason moved his arm and she leaned back, lifting her head. "Give the man some credit, Sharpay, he's absolutely crazy about you."

"Mm. As I hear it I'm not the only one he-"

"Will you stop?" He interrupted, face matching the serious tone of his voice. She saw now why Jason and Troy were such good friends. Jason was loyal. Fiercely loyal. "What is with girls and insecurity?"

Sharpay covered her face with her hands and kept them there. "It's hard to trust his feelings after what I overheard, okay? I'm sorry."

"Well trust _me_. Can you do that?"

She slowly dropped her hands to her lap, looking down at her fingers picking at each other. Trust Jason? Sure, why not? She blinked up at him, "Yeah. I trust you."

"Good. Now go talk to him."

/

_Sharpay, you don't know what you..._

_Sharpay, I didn't mean to..._

_Shar, I think I love-_

Stupid stupid stupid. All stupid. Troy ran his hands over his face and leaned forward on his desk. He'd messed up good this time and he wasn't sure what to say to make it better. He didn't want to take back what he'd said to Lily, because he'd meant it. To an extent anyway. He loved Tiara, sure, but he hated her for what she did to him. She had no right. But he'd decided he wasn't going to think about that anymore, remember? He was focusing on Sharpay. Perfect, innocent, never-done-him-wrong Sharpay. The closest she'd gotten to wrong had been leaving that key in his room. But he understood. When he'd been a prospect for Stuart he'd done a lot of things he hadn't wanted to. And now his mind was torn in two different directions and he wanted the needle to point towards Sharpay, he just didn't know what he was expected to-

"Hi."

Her voice sent a wave of warmth through his body and he spun around in the desk chair. Her eyes looked kind of puffy and he hated it, but there was a smile in her voice and almost one on her face so it more than balanced out in his book. Besides, it was a big step up from the last time he'd seen her. "Hey."

"Jason told me about the um- the note." Troy nodded and looked down at his hands. Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek and leaned against the doorframe, looking like she felt unwelcome coming inside. He didn't even know what to say right now. Too many things were jumbled about his brain. "I didn't know what the key did Troy, I swear. Lily told me I had to... and I just..." she sighed and ran a hand over the side of her face. "I didn't have a choice."

"I know." He answered, to which of her statements he wasn't positive. Jason's words echoed through his mind: _Everything is a choice, Troy. Even for us_. Was he right? Sure, Troy could bring up that true point, but what would be the point? Sure, Sharpay didn't have to follow orders and kiss James to get the key, and then leave it for him to find. Sure, James didn't have to leave the box. Sure, Lily didn't have to get her hands on Tiara's note. And sure, Troy didn't even have to let his curiosity get the best of him and open the box in the first place. But all those choices were made. And it wouldn't do much good dwelling on what didn't have to be done.

"No." Sharpay said sternly and Troy's face twisted in confusion she took a few steps into the room, arms hidden underneath his unzipped sweatshirt and outstretched by her hips. "You're not allowed to be understanding."

He laughed, "What am I supposed to be? Sorry?"

"No! You didn't do anything wrong. I don't... I don't know" She sighed, "Something other than usual Troy would be nice. I overreacted over nothing and didn't let you explain and got girly and dramatic and..."

"You're a girl, you can't help yourself." He smirked and she shook her head slowly. "And yes I did. You were right when you said I lied."

Sharpay bit her lip and looked up at him through her mascara-less lashes. "So you still love her... I can handle that..."

"I do love her," he pretended not to see her wince at his words. "Just not in the way you think I do."

"And how do I think you do?" She asked, sitting on the edge of his bed, still at a noticeable distance from him. Guess she wasn't feeling it yet, he spun in his seat in her direction and shrugged. "Romantically. I can say I still love Tiara, but that doesn't mean I'm _in_ love with her."

"That's just something boys say in movies to convince their current love interest they aren't still consumed with their ex."

Alright. He'd had enough of this doubting-him crap.

"Sharpay, you wanted to know. So you can listen and believe me or you can phone Jimmie and call me all the names you want."

That seemed to get her attention of his emotions. He hadn't meant to come across so stern or harsh, it made him feel like his father. But also like his father, he only used the voice when he needed someone to listen. And Sharpay was. Her lips closed and she sat quietly, blinking across at him. Her voice was soft and she looked down at her hands when she opened her mouth. "Troy it just hurts so bad because you lied. I remember... just about everything you've ever said to me. And now I'm scared if she comes back you'll lie even more. Can you just... tell me something true?"

Well, then. Emotion. Raw emotion. She looked up him and he wanted to sit next to her. He wanted to put his arm around her and hold her and just smell her vanilla shampoo. "Truth is... I don't want to lose you."

And there it was. He'd gotten to her. He could see the muscles in her face relax and she looked like she did the morning he'd caught her walking out of the woods- minus, you know, the I've-been-out-all-night-in-the-rain-in-the-forest look. Just her face, or the smile to be more specific. She'd been so upset at him and then he'd finally gotten her to smile. That was the kind of smile she had on her face. "Do you know how hard it is to be upset with you?"

"Not from personal experience, but I'll take your word for it." He grinned and she stood up, drifting over to him and stopping in between his legs. She ran her fingers along his hair and behind his ears, examining his eyes. "Is she really coming back?"

He nodded, lifting his hands to her elbows and up to her hands, "Yeah."

"Are you gonna be okay?"

The voice she used when asking the question made Troy think Jason must have gotten to her and explained the situation. He'd have to remember to thank him. A lot. He'd picked the right best friend. Would he be okay? He could only hope. Between Jason and Sharpay, though, he was pretty sure it wouldn't be as hard as he thought. "Yeah, I think so."

She grinned, hesitating a minute as she leaned forward and kissed him. And in the moment he felt alright. Sharpay pulled back and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Can I be girly just one more time tonight?"

"I suppose I could allow it."

/

Relaxing. Thirty. Minute. Shower.

Sharpay had never felt more happy to bathe. Except maybe after that night in the woods... or after the day her school had a legitimate food fight. The kind you only see in movies. But this shower was definitely in the top five. She rubbed her hair with Troy's fluffy green towel and hung it over the rack on the back of his door. She was settled in some more of his sweatpants and long sleeve t-shirt from his old middle school with a basketball on it. She smiled at the reflection of it in the mirror and turned towards Ryan's door, pushing it open.

"How's the studying?" She asked and he looked up from his bed, where a handful of notebooks were scattered around him. He looked tired. "Fantastic," he grinned sarcastically.

"Night, Ryan." She smiled, stepping out of the door frame and leaving the door slightly ajar as she'd found it before she'd taken a shower. Sharpay opened up the bathroom door on Troy's side, pushing her wet hair over her shoulder- that now smelt like his boyish salon shampoo- and slowed her pace when she saw him standing at the edge of his bed, arms crossed loosely and looking down at his feet. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Troy?"

He lifted his head, his blue eyes hitting her own before moving to the right of her. She followed his gaze, confused. And then she froze when she saw the girl sitting on the edge of Jason's bed with her legs crossed, elbow on her knee, chin on her palm. No way was this real. She was not prepared for this. She and Troy had _just_ returned to a bit of normalcy. She looked like a bum and didn't even have make-up on. This couldn't be happening. She must have slipped in the shower and hit her head and was currently in the middle of a mini coma. Troy looked back at the ground.

"Guess who came by for a visit?"


	32. Watch Me

_No._

_No no no no no no no no no no no no no._

_Please no._

_Why are you here?_

_How did you get in here?_

_Why are you sitting on Jason's bed?_

_Did you really have to come this late at night?_

_Is this visit really necessary?_

Sharpay didn't see how this was possible. First of all, it was a blizzard outside. Second of all, she couldn't be here. Third of all, she and Troy needed alone time. Fourth of all, she could not be here. She shook her head and tucked her hands into the sleeves of Troy's shirt and folded them across her chest. She looked at her ballet flats, her skinny jeans, and her green designer sweater. "Hi?"

"You don't have to fake the niceties with me," she said, looking up at Sharpay while pushing her hair over her shoulder. "I'm not exactly thrilled to see you either."

Sharpay raised an eyebrow and looked over at Troy, who lifted his head and sighed, "There's no need to be rude."

"This coming from the boy who single-handedly insulted and embarrassed me at Vince's house in front of all of our friends, Mr. Manners."

Sharpay walked over to Troy, shyly cozying into his side. He smoothed a hand over her arm and looked as if he wanted to narrow his blue eyes as the memory flashed through his mind. "You _slapped_ me."

"You provoked me."

"I called you out. There's a difference. You embarrassed yourself."

"You know," Gabriella started, standing up from Jason's bed, "You really have-"

"-'_changed since Sharpay got here_'?" Troy looked as bored as Sharpay was guilty. Had she caused Troy to change? She didn't want that. She hadn't done it on purpose. He shook his head, "You all need to get a new line, that one is getting old."

She turned towards Jason's dresser and started examining the items that rested on top. Sharpay watched as Gabriella picked up up a cologne bottle, popped it open, and smelled the contents. "Gabriella, how did you get here?"

"The tunnel, obviously. Wasn't about to walk through half a foot of snow in Chanel flats."

"The... tunnel?" Sharpay pulled away and looked up at Troy, "There's a _tunnel_?"

He slid his hand away from her body, up to scratch the back of his neck with a finger, "There may be a few."

"And you... you just... I mean..." She looked over at Gabriella, who flashed her eyebrows and Sharpay rolled her eyes. It was like because she knew about these so-called mystical 'tunnels' she was better than her. Well. She wasn't. Maybe a little... But not completely. She blinked up at Troy. "Were you gonna tell me?"

"So you'd have another way to run away from me?" Troy smirked. "I don't think so." Gabriella suppressed a gag on the other side of the room. He rolled his eyes just as Sharpay had and looked over to her. "Does Lily even know you're here?"

"She's not my mother. I don't have to have to hold her hand when I want to cross the street."

"I'll take that as a 'no'." Gabriella made a face at Troy. "And I've met your mother. She couldn't punish you the way Lily could if she _tried_."

"It's an _expression_, Troy."

"It's _the truth_, Gabriella."

The brunette glared and took a careful seat back on the edge of Jason's unmade mattress. Troy looked over to the doorway as if he was waiting for someone to walk in; like a cat whose ears perked up at the slightest noise. "On the contrary. The only truth I know is that you've turned into a giant-"

"Blondie, I am _so_ prepared to kick your skinny little ass back to Albuquerque with this controller. Rematch, right now, you and me, let's-" Jason rounded the corner of the threshold- more like swinging, actually- with his hand around the doorframe. The other hand swung loosely at his side, grasping the wireless controller. That must have been who Troy was waiting for to appear, though Sharpay hadn't even heard the staircase creak. Probably drowned out by Gabriella's insult. Jason's green eyes narrowed half in confusion and half in amusement. "I don't recall inviting _you_ into my bed..."

"Don't get too excited, Cross," Gabriella looked down at a polished fingernail. French manicure. Could've guessed. "I'm here for Troy."

"Of course you are." He replied with a wink. Sharpay felt the corner of the mouth lifting. "Didn't even hear you unlock the door, Montez. Props on the stealth." He drummed his controller-free hand one, twothreefour, five times against the wood and looked over to Troy. "So the secrecy of the tunnels has been unveiled and all's known about Tiara's return to our beloved school? Everyone's on the same page here?"

Gabriella caught her jaw before it dropped too far. Troy let out a long breath through his nose. Sharpay shifted on her feet uncomfortably. "No?" He asked, to no one in particular, ignoring Troy's borderline irritated look. Something told Sharpay he wasn't embarrassed though. He drummed his hand on the doorframe once more, "Right. I'll be downstairs, then."

And Sharpay felt like the uncomfortable silence stretched on for hours after he disappeared into the hallway. But it was actually only a few seconds before she had collected enough gall to address Troy.

"So were you waiting until Tiara showed up to break up with Barbie or were you gonna give her a little time to adjust to the heart break?" Gabriella's eyes were full of malice when she stared up at Troy with her almost-smug half-grin. The words cut through Sharpay like a newly sharpened sword. She somehow found the energy to turn and look up at him. Something in Troy's face went dark and she almost didn't recognize him. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen it before, and if she had she'd pushed it away to the depths of her memory. He stared for a moment, and she watched his Adam's Apple go up and down once, and she pretended he was holding back from calling Gabriella some obscene name.

"Could Gabriella and I have a minute alone?" Troy asked finally, speaking to Sharpay but staring straight into Gabriella's eyes. Bet she liked that. After a moment of her silence he added a strained "_Please_"?

_No. No you cannot. I don't trust her alone with you._ She swallowed the words in her throat and nodded. She was only a few steps away from him- how she even got that far was beyond her- but she wanted to hug him. Kiss him. Let Gabriella know _this was hers. _That _Troy_ was hers. Until Tiara came backOut of all of the things she could have said, all the things she wanted to, her lips could only seem to produce a single syllable, "Sure."

/

Troy glanced over at Sharpay as she moved quietly from the room. He was starting to think that nothing was ever going to be okay between the two of them for more than a few moments at a time. And those moments seemed to be getting shorter and shorter. He waited until he heard the creak of the staircase signal that she was on her way downstairs before looking back over to Gabriella, who seemed unabashed as she sat perched on the end of Jason's bed. "So, want to tell me why you're here?"

"You never had a problem with me visiting before," she answered innocently. "Suddenly Blondie's here and-"

"Do _not_ blame this on Sharpay."

"Will you stop protecting her?" Gabriella asked, voice raising slightly. "This is just a phase until Tiara comes back."

"Oh," he almost laughed. "Is that what it is?"

"Yes, _Troy_, it is."

"Then why am I asking her to The Gala?"

"Obviously because Tiara isn't-" Gabriella stopped, tucking a tuft of brown curls behind her ear. "Wait, am I hearing you correctly? _Asking_? You mean you haven't even asked her yet?"

"Isn't that what I just-"

"Because it's in like three days."

"I'm aware of-"

"She didn't even pick out a dress, yet."

"I didn't-"

"I mean, did you even buy a-"

_Alright, enough of this crap. _Troy lifted his hand up and massaged his thumb and forefinger into his temple. "Are you trying to make a point with this? Besides migraine infliction?"

"Who have you attended The Gala with the past two years?" _Beside the point. Beside the point._ Troy stayed silent, staring at Gabriella. _Completely beside the point. Completely. Ignore her, Troy, she's trying to get you angry. _That new, familiar malice-filled smirk came onto her face. "You can't even say her name, can you?"

He could say her name. He could say her name twice if he wanted to. Tiara. Tiara Tiara. See? Simple. No pain and/or strangeness whatsoever. He didn't have to say it out loud to prove her wrong. That'd be giving in to her games. And he didn't have to play along if he didn't want to. Or have to, for that matter. Troy folded his arms across his chest. "I don't think you know me as well as you'd like to think you do."

"You're right. I don't. Because you don't even speak to me anymore." She made an inquisitive face and looked off into the corner, "Then again, we _had_ been on speaking terms before-"

"Enough," Troy said, mildly exasperated. She turned and looked at him. She was right. They had been on speaking terms before Sharpay got here. They'd been really great friends, actually. Because that was when Gabriella was Gabriella. Not this... this warped evil version of Gabriella. She'd always had a superiority complex, but Tiara's leaving had only made it worse. See? He said it again. Tiara.

No need to point out that he was only saying her name inside his head.

"You want to talk?" Gabriella nodded and lifted a shoulder, indifferent. He was less and less amused by this new facade she'd been sporting tonight. "Then let's talk," he added, reaching and pulling the chair from his desk over towards Jason's bed where she still sat, leaning forward on his elbows. She sat back a little, straightening up, probably not expecting him to be so forward. She blinked her thick lashes at him a few times, silent like he'd been a moment ago. He should have been happy about this. But he wasn't in the mood for games. "Well? I know this must have been building up, so I bet it's-"

"Do you love her?"

Alright. Blunt. Troy blinked. "Do I-"

"It's a yes or no question, Troy." Gabriella interrupted calmly, any trace of prior Queen Bitchiness gone. They stared at one another for a moment before Troy sat back in the chair.

She bit her lip almost unnoticeably, nodding as she looked at her lap like she knew what his answer was. He didn't even know what his answer was. He knew he liked Sharpay. He knew he really _really_ liked her. He knew he felt happier on the days she was next to him when he woke up. He knew her favorite food, color, and movie. He knew he liked the way she inside of her cheek. He knew he liked the electricity her touch brought. He liked how she was a horrible liar. He liked how she stood up to Gabriella. He liked how she was better than Jason in video games. He liked how she didn't try to be anybody else. He liked the birthmark on her right arm. He liked how she kept stealing his clothes. He liked her face when she was sleeping. He liked how he could make her forget about everything else. And he liked how he couldn't think of a single flaw in her entire self.

But did all that mean he _loved_ her? He caught Gabriella's eyes as she lifted her head. "Everyone knows."

"And so you've come here to tell me..."

"That I don't approve." She finished simply. His eyebrow raised, "You thought I was unaware of this fact?"

"I thought you had better taste. I mean, come on, you have Tiara Gold-Holmes whose mother married two of the richest men on the east coast, and you replace her with a middle class no-name from Kansas?"

"New Mexico," Troy corrected.

"Wherever," she waved her hand, standing up and walking over to Troy's side of the room, towards his dresser and he swiveled in the chair to follow her. She pointedly tapped at the glass on one of the two picture frames on his dresser. The photo of Jason, Zeke, Tiara, and himself sitting on the steps of Stuart from freshman year, before they were technically allowed. They thought they were making a statement. Even during his mourn-Tiara phase he couldn't bring himself to put it away. "She won't be here much longer anyway."

"And by that you mean, what, exactly? Planning on getting her expelled?"

"No, Taylor tried that, her record is too clean," she said, bored. And he couldn't tell if she was joking or not. "But, I mean... if Sharpay were to have some kind of _accident_ that made her leave Eastwood... well... that'd just be a shame, really." Gabriella turned away to hide a face but he caught the grin on her face and stood up. He could threaten him all she wanted to but even remotely mentioning that she wanted to hurt Sharpay was a different story. Sharpay hadn't done anything wrong. Gabriella was the one who was clearly ready to be declared criminally insane. She turned when she heard the floorboards creak underneath his feet to see him standing only about a foot away. "Oh, have I struck a nerve?"

"You're out of line." Troy said, looking down at her, over her empty threats and idiotically focused aggression. "You wouldn't hurt her because you know it'd hurt me."

"No?" There was no way for him to tell that she was taking this as a challenge. She stared up at him with equal force behind her eyes, and a little something else Troy couldn't place. "Watch. Me."

* * *

Okay, so this isn't actually the entire chapter. I sort of cut it in half because I didn't finish the ending and I didn't want to rush it and make it crappy, so that's why it's only like 2.5K words. I'm more of a +6K words writer. Then again, that's also why it takes me so long in between posts. If I made all my posts like this I could probably have one every week. Anyway.

I'll be on vacation next week so the other half of this probably won't be up until after the 28th. I think I should be able to finish it before moving into school, so you won't have to wait that long. Enjoy!


	33. Hale Girls Never Say Die

"What do you think they're talking about up there?" Sharpay asked anxiously as KillCam popped up after shooting Jason. Again. Figures Jason was all talk. He came upstairs bragging and they'd already been at this longer than necessary. Consequently, Troy and Gabriella had been upstairs longer than necessary. Together. Alone. Alone together. Horrible scenarios were running through her mind. Ones that could happen. Ones that could never happen. Ones that could only happen in her nightmares and Gabriella's dreams.

Jason sighed in frustration and shrugged. He scratched the side of his head with the controller, possibly half-strategizing for the next kill. How could he not be worried about the two of them upstairs together? "Weather. Sports. The Gala. How long it'll take for you to bow out gracefully or her to accept the fact that he moved on."

She sighed this time, pausing the game. She looked over at Jason, not sure of what was going on in her mind. Of what she believed. "From her friendship or... Tiara?"

"I was only-" He let out a breath as he leaned back in the armchair to think about it. "I'm not sure, really." He rolled his head in her direction, face pressing into the cushion. "Both?"

Her mouth was dangerously close to frowning. "Not what I wanted to hear."

"Just telling you the truth, Blondie. Tiara's not just going to be eliminated from the equation. Especially now, with that note."

"I know that. I just wish I didn't," she mumbled, looking away towards the window, at the snow that seemed to be endlessly drifting from the clouds hidden in the dark sky. _He __doesn__'__t __belong __with __her_, she wanted to say. _He __belongs __with __me. __I __wouldn__'__t __leave __him. __I __wouldn__'__t __do __what __Tiara __did __to __him. __Not __in __a __million __years_. But she couldn't say it. Not out loud. Not yet. "I think he'd choose her."

Jason shook his head, leaning forward. "I don't."

"I'm almost positive he would."

"Now you don't know that." He replied seriously. She wasn't looking, but she could tell he was watching her. It almost felt like he was worried about her. It made her feel safe. For the moment, anyway. It was better than old sarcastic Jason. "I mean if we put you and Tiara in a room and Troy watched you two behind a one-way mirror or something, I think there's a pretty solid chance he'd pick you."

Nope, same old Jason. Her head snapped back in his direction, "_Jason_."

"_What_?" Jason asked, eyes wide. "It's not like I'm making a pros and cons list or... or debating which couple name sounds better." He looked back to the television with an interested grin on his face, waiting until she un-paused the game to speak again, "Troy and Tiara... Troy and Sharpay..." Sharpay looked over at him, irritated, but it clearly went unacknowledged or ignored because he kept going. "Troyara... Troypay... Troy-"

She paused the game again and leaned forward to place the controller on the table. "Will you _stop_ before I kill you in real life, too?"

"Me_ow_. Retract claws," He smirked, loosing his own controller and standing up from the couch, he stepped over her legs which she had just reclined and dropped into the cushion next to her. He gave a loud sigh and leaned his head back, and she kept staring at the frozen game screen. "In all truth, you have got to stop freaking out about this. I mean, it's not like you can prevent it."

_Or __can_ I_? _She sunk further into the couch, pulling the sleeves of Troy's basketball t-shirt over her hands. What would she do? Little boring her compared to wild temptress Tiara? She'd lose in a heartbeat. Just thinking abut it made her shiver. The image of the photo on Tiara's student file flashed through her mind. _No. __No __I __cannot._ "I suppose."

She leaned her head back as he had, glancing at Jason from the corner of her eye. "You're a good friend, you know."

"Don't sound so surprised," he smirked.

"I mean it," she grinned, turning to the ceiling. She felt her mouth slowly conforming into the shape of a frown and a sigh growing in her chest. "Do you think they'll get back together?"

"Tough to say. I may know how he felt about her... how he feels about you..." he shrugged, more to himself than anything, it seemed, before continuing. "I mean, I used to think yes, in a heart beat, but now I'm not so sure."

"I wonder if he is."

Jason must have sensed something in her less-than-thrilled tone because he turned to look at her, a knowing smile growing from the corner of his lips, "You kind of love him, huh?"

Sharpay stared at an almost-invisible crack in the ceiling paint. She knew Jason was only being honest. And she wanted honest. She needed it- especially in a situation like this. But there was something about the way Troy talked about Tiara, how his face changed when the name was brought up in conversation. Something that Sharpay couldn't help but get nervous about. And then on the phone last night, how he'd called Tiara his "girlfriend". That had to mean something. That he still loved her. That he still felt like they were in some sort of weird long distance relationship and she was just on vacation. Maybe he'd never feel like that about her. Love her like that. Maybe she was wasting her time pretending. Or maybe she was crazy.

But that's how Sharpay felt about him. She felt herself smiling more when she was around him, or when his name was mentioned. She couldn't help it. Even when they were fighting she couldn't stay mad. She wasn't even sure the feeling she experienced was anger or some subset of irrational subset of love... There it was. That word. Those four little letters that could so easily change things. Maybe in a bad way. Maybe in a great way. Either or, Jason was right. She did love Troy. But she wasn't about to tell _him_ that.

"Yeah," she blinked at the television screen, at the window, and then his green eyes. "Kind of."

"Gonna tell him?"

"Not on my priority list at the moment."

"Then you might want to pause the topic. I hear them coming down the stairs."

Sharpay nodded, listening for the sound of footsteps for a second before hearing Gabriella's designer trod. How had he heard that above their conversation? It was barely noticeable. "You can't tell him."

"I wouldn't," he said simply, and it was clear that somehow he understood how she felt. And in the moment Sharpay wondered if Jason had ever been in love. She held up her right arm, extending a pinky, which he merely shook his head at. He took it in his, either way, squeezing for emphasis. "For the record... Troypay? Totally the better sounding couple name."

Jason could be really sweet when he wanted to be.

"Sharpay..."

/

Troy watched Sharpay and Jason both crane their necks towards the staircase in unison. For a minute he thought it looked like they were holding hands, but then he couldn't rationalize it in his mind. It was Sharpay who stood up first, just as he'd taken the last step onto the ground, and he felt Gabriella hovering behind him. Her aggravation was palpable. "What's wrong?" she asked, glancing at the brunette with a nervous tone.

_Just __trying __to __remain __calm __for __you __while __simultaneously __preventing __Gabriella __from __jumping __at __your __throat __or __pushing __you __down __the __staircase __or __burying __you __under __a __pile __of __snow __outside. _He shook his head and reached for the hand he imagined had been holding Jason's, "Nothing's wrong."

Sharpay looked at Gabriella once more while sliding her fingers in between Troy's. Her hands were warmer than usual, probably from holding the XBox controller. "So, you're here because..."

"Because I couldn't stand another night without knowing you're safe home," she grinned. And for a brief millisecond it actually looked real. He raised an eyebrow, and she ignored it, staring at Sharpay instead with a look of fake acceptance into her world.

"No really," Sharpay asked.

And just as quick, the look was gone.

"Because you're missed at Hale," she responded dryly. "By some. Not me."

"Obviously," the two girls said in union, looking at each other skeptically. Troy felt Sharpay nestle into his side as Jason whistled. "Look at that, you're practically twins."

"Hardly," Gabriella grimaced, looking the blonde up and down. "As if I'd let myself walk around with that many split ends."

"Right, because I'm the one with the problem, here."

"Are you saying there's something wrong with the way I look?"

"No, of course not. I think you're beautiful, actually," Sharpay corrected, stepping away from Troy to make better eye contact with her. "It's more your attitude that needs a bit of-"

Gabriella took a step towards Sharpay, but before her manicured talons could fully enclose around her forearm- or neck- Troy's hand was on her wrist. Sharpay turned to Troy with wide eyes, feeling Jason take a step forward, ready to interject should things get out of hand... _more_out of hand...

"Troy-" he started.

"Touch Sharpay one more time and-"

Gabriella raised her eyebrows, "And you'll _what_? Stare me down some more? Chills."

"Troy," Sharpay said quietly, placing a hand on his skin after which he immediately softened. He tried not to let his irritation at Gabriella show when he turned to look at her, releasing Gabriella. "I'll be fine. I can handle myself."

He didn't get the chance to tell her that he knew she could before Gabriella snorted. Jason sighed, "Are you _trying_ to get hit?"

She grinned smugly and turned towards him. "He wouldn't touch me."

"Didn't say by him."

"Oh please, like you'd lay a finger on me either. Momma Senator raised you right." Troy watched as Jason took a few seconds to just stare at Gabriella. He could tell that Jason was trying awfully hard no repress whatever snarky comment was at the tip of his tongue. If there was one person in the world Jason would put all else above for, it was his mom. You didn't talk ill of her unless you were looking for a fight. Which Gabriella clearly was. Jason smirked and pat her on the shoulder twice. "Yes she did. And if there's one thing her being in politics taught me is how blackmail works. I might not hurt you, but Lily has her own ways of torture. You know that goal you've been working oh-so hard for? Double S ring a bell?"

"Jason," Troy warned. _Double __S? __Really?_ Just because Sharpay knew about Hale didn't mean she knew about _that_. She'd put it together, she wasn't dumb. Jason looked at him, rolling his eyes before looking back at Gabriella. "My guess is she wouldn't be so kind if something were to happen to Blondie."

Gabriella narrowed her brown eyes, challenging Jason's threat. It was true, though. Lily found out how she was on Sharpay's case again and Gabriella would wish she hadn't even walked over here tonight. If she didn't know, already, that is. Which she obviously already did. She was probably the one who sent her over to get Sharpay in the first place. "_Fine_. May I escort her back now or is there more verbal abuse you feel I should be subjected to?"

"Back to playing the victim?" Jason smirked, green eyes gleaming, as he walked around her towards the couch. She rolled her eyes and looked at Sharpay, "Well?"

"My bag is upstairs... I just," Sharpay stuttered, probably at the disgust in Gabriella's eyes. "Troy?"

"Yeah," he answered, giving Gabriella a solid _back-the-hell-down_ with his eyes. He had never been so angry with anyone in his entire life. Not even with Tiara during his denial phase. Which, to be frank, had gone on longer than need be. He let Sharpay pull him up the stairs, following her wordlessly until he shut the door behind them in his room. She let go of his hand and walked over towards his bed. He watched her fall face first into the mattress and he fought the urge not to laugh as her hair splayed out around her. He had never noticed how naturally wavy it was. "_Ee __ants __me __bed.__"_

He walked closer to his bed, tilting his head in a failed attempt to make her words more comprehensible. "Want to try that again?"

She sighed and rolled onto her back, blinking sadly. "She wants me dead."

Was she just figuring this out now?

Troy shook his head. He knew everything just got worse when he lied to her, but she looked so fragile, he couldn't put this kind of truth on her. She wouldn't be able to sleep the floor above her knowing that someone was out to get her. Unless she already knew somehow and was just trying to get him to confirm. Either way. He was going to keep her in the dark for as long as possible. Even if she thought it was wrong. "She's all talk."

Sharpay pushed herself up, squinting her eyes at him suspiciously, "One day I'm going to find the flaw in your poker face."

He took two more steps, settling in between her legs and placed his hands on either side of her face. He could tell that there was sadness behind her eyes even if she was trying to joke it off. He wasn't exactly sure what 'it' was, but he was certain that he had something to do with it. He tilted her head and lowered his face, pressing his lips on hers until he was sure she got the point. He pulled back, tucking her hair behind her ear and over her shoulder. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"What if you're not there?" She whispered, and if he wasn't so close he may not have heard her.

_I__'__ll__always__be__there_, is what he wanted to say. But he couldn't because that would be another lie. Besides, she was leaving him right now. He wouldn't be over there to protect her. At least he felt confident Lily would awaken should any menacing situation present itself. "You're safe in Hale."

"I want to stay here again," Sharpay said softly still, feeling small as she looked up at Troy through her lashes.

He grinned, and his hands found her shoulders, and slid their way past her elbows, her forearms, her wrists, until his fingers had nestled in their rightful place in between her own. "We have to study for finals. And as much as I enjoy your company, you're far too distracting for me."

She bit the inside of her cheek, a light blush creeping into her cheeks. "Am I the good kind of distraction?"

"You'd probably fall under the category of _best_," The word came out in a low whisper. Words for only her to hear. He squeezed her hands and leaned forward to eliminate the space in between the two of them, his lips pressing into hers as her hands involuntarily went to wrap around his neck. Didn't work out too well what with their fingers being intertwined and everything. Though he seemed to have the same instinctual pull when his hands found the same curve in her waist. His fingers liked to rest there for a while, occasionally moving up or down before curling around to encase her in his hold. The hold that put her in prime position to slide her arms up around his neck, fingers toying with the hair at the nape of his neck.

Sharpay was the one who pulled her head back first. She dropped her hands, pulling the sleeves of Troy's shirt over her hands. She smiled up at him, and this time it looked real. "I hope you know I'm keeping these clothes..."

He smirked. "I expected as much."

/

"So, does this just lead to Hale?"

"No."

"Right. Troy said there was a few... Is there like... An entrance in every building? Or is it just Hale and Stuart?"

"Yes."

"Yes it's in every building?" Sharpay asked, looking at the back of Gabriella's head as she speed-walked in front of her. "Or yes it's-"

"Okay, listen," She spun around, causing Sharpay to stop in her tracks, "Just because Troy's pretending everything is under his alpha control, doesn't mean it is." She looked her up and down before smirking slowly and returning to her brisk pace in the opposite direction. "I could easily be leading you off a cliff with this tunnel for all you know."

Sharpay's eyes went wide. Oh god. She was right. Were there any cliffs nearby?

"God, are you always so paranoid?"

Scoffing, she replied, "Your past actions have kind of proven it necessary to be, don't you think?"

She couldn't see, but she could practically feel Gabriella rolling her eyes. "Look, if you're hoping for some sort of truce here-"

"I try not to hope for things I know won't be coming true. But I mean... a truce wouldn't suck."

"_Suck_?" Gabriella seethed, spinning on Sharpay. It was only then that Sharpay realized how far they had walked. She stood on the third step of a small staircase that must open up into Hale. "What _sucks_ is that every person who I used to consider my friend is now either talking shit behind my back or hates me. That my best friend disappeared without even a text. That the one I person I actually-" She shook her head and Sharpay stared. After being a bitch for so long a time, she must've been waiting to unload all this on someone. And ten bucks said her first choice wasn't Sharpay. Or her second. Or her fifth. "You need to stop playing the victim and pretending you're the only person who has problems. You don't know the half of what the rest of us deal with daily. So your boyfriend still loves his ex and your best friend is hundreds of miles away- boo _fucking_ hoo. Your story is a cake walk compared to Kelsi or Martha or hell, even Jason. They may like you a lot more than me right now, but there's no trust. So stop walking around acting like one of us, Sharpay. You have _no__idea_."

Sharpay was stunned to silence. The edge in Gabriella's voice had made her feel small and weak. She shook her head and her jaw trembled when she tried to say, "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me. I don't like you. I'm never going to like you. And when Tiara comes back I'm sure she won't either." With the cock of a prissy, knowing eyebrow, Gabriella turned around and walked up the rest of the steps. As she opened the thick wooden door, a dull light came from the hallway of Hale, the sounds of girls laughing signaling that there wasn't much studying going on in the common room. She pictured Tiara sitting on the couch, all of the girls sitting around here giggling as she told them stories about where she had been for half the school year. And suddenly she was exhausted. Bag on her shoulder, she pulled herself into the corridor, pushing the door shut behind her. That was when she realized the door wasn't really a door, when it was shut it just blended into the painted wall. She placed her fingers on the handrail and took a step when-

"Sharpay, wait up."

Sharpay sighed quietly, not normally the reaction when Lily called her name. But as Gabriella brushed past her to get upstairs- she had stopped to talk to some of the friends she claimed hated her so much- she couldn't think of another way to express the irritation. Sharpay stared up at her while her designer flats tapped up the stairs in front of her, pointedly avoiding her piercing stare when she turned to climb the second set. She turned and saw Lily gliding over in a satin cami and black yoga pants that elongated her already perfect legs. She couldn't see any labels, but she figured they were expensive. "I'm proud of you."

_Uh?__Okay?_ "Thank you?"

"According to Hale guidelines, you're officially one of us now. Pending induction."

"So... No more tasks?" No more kissing James? Because that wasn't so bad. Besides the whole in-front-of-Troy thing... _Oh... __right... __Troy... __not __James_. Wrong Stuart.

Lily must've been reading her mind because there was a small smirk on her lips, "Well, actually, I do have _one_ more..."

"Are you kidding me?" Sharpay whined, exasperated. "What's left for me to do? Kiss Gabriella?"

Even Lily had to let out a laugh at that one. "Now, even I'm that cruel."

"Then what? I really, I just-"

"Trust me," she interrupted, putting an arm around her shoulder and leading her up the stairs, "You won't be tired once you see what I need you to do."

She couldn't have been more right. When Lily pushed the door open to her room, Sharpay's eyes were wide open. It could have been a dream. In the middle of her room were four racks of dresses that obviously cost more than Sharpay's entire wardrobe. It was like she had pulled them straight from the Vogue closet. There were white ones and gold ones and strapless ones and glitter-encrusted ones and ones that were bridal worthy. She couldn't even bring herself to touch them. They were too gorgeous. Sharpay dropped her bag and took a few more steps into the room, jaw ajar. "How did you get all of these?"

"The Hale Mothers know people in the industry," Lily grinned, walking forward and running her finger along the silk fabric of a gold gown. She looked over her shoulder at Sharpay. "Plus, my parents are kind of the shit."

Sharpay let out a soft laugh and continued staring. She watched her scan over the rack until she pulled out a flowing white, strapless dress with layers upon layers of fabric and a slit that would make them twirl when she walked. "You have to wear a white one. Gold jewelry is going to look amazing with your tan."

_Me? __Wear __one? __Gold __jewelry? __Am __I __dreaming?_ "I'm allowed to wear one of those?" She shook her head, "No way. It's too much."

"Actually, it's Emilio Pucci," she smirked. "And what else were you planning on wearing to the Gala if not one of these?"

With all the Tiara and task drama she'd actually forgotten to think much about the Gala. Not that Troy had officially asked her or anything, but unless Tiara popped up before then, it wasn't much of a stretch to assume they would be going together. Crap. Tiara was going to pop up before the Gala, wasn't she? _Push __it __out __of __your __mind, __Sharpay. __Out __of __your __mind_. Lily held the dress out further. "You're in Hale, now, Sharpay. Won't kill you to embrace it."

"Is this a task?" Sharpay asked skeptically, picking the hanger off of her finger.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Yes, now you mention it, this dress has a map embroidered into the fabric. You have until the Gala to find where it leads, steal the treasure, and bring it back to me."

She stared. It could be true. She stopped herself from examining the thread of the gown. "Sorry. It's just been a long day. I'm a little... out of it. Sort of a Post-Task Lethargy thing."

"Been there," Lily replied, and it was hard to picture her as anything except her position now. It was weird to even think of her being initiated. Of her having to take orders from someone else. "But I promise this is it. You passed the physical, the written, and the mental. Think of the dress as a gold star on your report card. A very expensive, very stylish gold star."

"So I just try on the dress and... And that's it?"

"That's it."

"I'm in?"

"I'm sensing you're having difficulty grasping the concept..."

"I'm sorry, it's just," Sharpay shrugged, unable to tear her eyes away from the dress in her hands. She wasn't sure what she was feeling. It was a mixture of relief and lethargy and excitement. And a little bit of denial that all the craziness was over. In this aspect of her life, anyway. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say."

"_Thank__you_ is always a good start," she smirked, falling into her couch and crossing her legs. She ran her fingers through her straight, dark hair. "You could also say _I__'__ll __try __this __on __and __at __least __three __others_ because everyone else already picked their dress and now I'm bored."

"Thank you, Lily, I'll try it on," Sharpay grinned, repeating her. Between commentary and girls coming in to squeal over the designer duds it took about an hour to try on five dresses, half of them brands Sharpay had only read in the pages of W. She'd even tried on a goldish dress despite Lily's determination to make her wear white. But the sculpted taffeta bodice of the Marchesa gown was too amazing to resist. In the end, though, she'd ended up staring at herself in the mirrored closet doors wearing a much simpler dress. White. Chiffon. Sweetheart neckline.

"You should just get married in that," Kelsi had said, peaking her head in momentarily and saying something about about a gold Tiffany pendant that would look perfect with the dress. Apparently she had her own dress picked out since September with the help of Fashion Week connections of her own. You know, for walking runway shows, she didn't talk much about her modeling.

And then, finally, Sharpay collapsed into her bed, snuggled up in more of Troy's clothes. They felt different in comparison to all of the dresses she'd just tried on. She felt herself drift into a dream. Her and Troy at the Gala. Her white dress and his black tux made it look like they were actually getting married. Kelsi's words had sunk into her subconscious mind.

She couldn't have been asleep for more than ten minutes when she felt a pair of hands jolting her into consciousness. She rolled over, wanting to ignore the harassment but found that whoever the hands belonged to had better ideas. A scarf of sorts covered her eyes and she pushed herself up, disoriented. "What the-"

"_Shh_," a voice whispered calmly, which of course brought back the memory of being summoned at midnight from the infirmary to prove herself to Lily and the rest of the girls. Ugh. Hadn't Lily said there would be no more tasks? Maybe this was the induction she had mentioned. What were they going to make her do? Wear a hooded robe and hold a candle and dance with wolves or something, probably. She was exhausted. A lot of absurd scenarios were racing through her mind. She couldn't place one thought in front of another. Either way, she allowed herself be be ushered into her Uggs and out of the room. She went down stairs. Then went down more stairs. And then even more until she met a scent that could only classify as Tunnel Smell. She'd noticed it earlier. It was like a mixture of dirt and mothballs. Maybe they had all of the Hale girls last-season outfits hidden down here. There was enough room. You think they'd at least have some Airwick or something with all of their parents' disposable incomes.

It was a much longer walk then the underground crossing from Stuart. That had only taken a few minutes. This walk felt like it took at least twenty. And it felt even longer due to the fact that whoever was guiding her kept silencing her when she asked a question. _Where __are __we-? __Shhh. __How __much-? __Shhh._ She was torn between whether it was Kelsi or Angela's voice. It was hard to place when there were no actual words being said. For all she knew it was Gabriella, leading her off that cliff she'd mentioned earlier. And after an eternity of walking there were stairs, and a creaky door, and a blast of cold air. She hadn't exactly been given the opportunity to put a coat on.

"Why are we outside?" Sharpay asked, feeling a snowflake hit her nose after being ushered through another door. She didn't hear any other voices. She only heard her boots making contact with wood. Even damp, she'd know the sound anywhere. "Troy? _OW_."

She reached up to sooth her head once the scarf had been ripped from her head, taking a solid chunk of hair with it. Just as Sharpay had expected, she was standing on the dock of Troy's special lake. Near the edge of it, actually, a mere foot or two from a thin sheet of ice covering the water underneath. This was not going to end well. She looked up, confused and fairly petrified. "Gabriella, not that I want to anger you or anything seeing as you've got me cornered, but _what __the __hell_?"

"Always so dramatic," the brunette rolled her eyes as she balled up the scarf and stuffed it into her coat pocket. Nice of her to deprive Sharpay the luxury of wearing her own. She lifted her gaze just as Sharpay was pulling the sleeves of Troy's sweatshirt. The grey one he'd given her the first time she'd been stranded out here. Something changed in her eyes and she took a few steps closer. A gust of wind blew her dark hair around her shoulders and she looked like the witch from a fairy tale. "I think it's time I gave you an attitude adjustment, Sharpay."

"And you thought it would be proper for it to be done outside in the middle of a snow storm? Without witnesses?" Sharpay added and looked around, trying to figure out how she'd be able to escape if Gabriella snapped or something. She only saw the icy water, the dark forest, and the small boat house that clearly hid the entrance to the underground tunnel system. Why? Why was this place so special that it deserved it's own tunnel. "How do you even know how to get here?"

"I followed Tiara out here once," she answered rather honestly, which only made Sharpay more nervous. If she was telling her the truth, she clearly wasn't going to be around much longer to tell anyone. She pictured Troy jumping through the trees to come to her rescue. She waited, staring past Gabriella into the darkness. But he didn't come. Nobody came. She looked back to Gabriella and swallowed the fear in her throat.

Gabriella tilted her head slightly, motioning towards the snow covered water with a nod. "Any idea how cold that water is?"

"Gabriella-"

"Judging by the ice, I'm guessing very. But I'm still a bit curious, aren't you?" She took a step towards Sharpay, causing her to back further towards the edge. If she lost her footing even momentarily, she'd no doubt fall in, freeze, and Troy would never get to see her in that amazing gown at the Gala.

She needed to sort out her priorities.

Sharpay shook her head and Gabriella smirked, "Oh, come on, not even a _little_?"

There was a noise in the brush behind Gabriella, and Sharpay strained to see the figure approaching out of the dark over the pounding of her rapid heartbeat. What she was able to make out was that he was male. Which could only mean Troy had come to save her. Just like she had hoped. Just like he always did. He must have known something was up when they walked back through the tunnels and had waited for Gabriella to make her move. He'd waited and then followed them the whole way out here. But, no, if that had been the case why wouldn't he had stopped her before, you know, Gabriella had her half-way off the dock?

"Wow. So this is real life, huh?" _This_ Sharpay was not expecting. Gabriella let out an irritated sigh before turning around. "I thought you hit bottom when you drugged her, but congratulations, you've outdone yourself."

Sharpay had taken a few small steps to Gabriella's side, but a creak underneath her shoe gave away her position and Gabriella threw her hand out to the side, catching her bicep. She didn't even look at her, just kept glaring at Jason. "How'd you find us?"

"Doesn't matter," he replied calmly. Powerfully. He glared back. "Let her go."

Gabriella stared for a moment, unmoving. "You're Mr. Big Bad Bodyguard. Take her from me."

"I'm giving you the opportunity to save what little shred of dignity you have left."

"Oh, well, isn't that sweet of you."

"You're just digging a deeper grave for yourself, Montez."

"Spare me the lecture, _Cross_. I didn't realize you'd been fraternizing with the enemy." _The__enemy?_ She was obviously referring to Sharpay, who had absolutely no idea Gabriella had viewed her as such a big threat.

"I think you've taken that title over for yourself, don't you think? I never saw her corner you off the edge of a building."

"Well, after you turn around and walk back to Stuart, she and I are going to have a nice little chit chat." Sharpay crossed her arms over her chest. _Great. __Looking __forward __to __it_. "After that, I'm pretty sure she won't be a problem anymore."

Was she kidding? Was she crazy?

Jason's eyes grew more intense by the moment, he looked over her shoulder and at Sharpay, who probably looked like a small, nervous kitten. "Sharpay, run."

Not kidding. Definitely crazy.

"No, Sharpay, stay," Gabriella countered, holding out an arm to stop her movement. But the motion was a bit too exaggerated, and the force was enough to make her stumble just over the edge.

Stuff like this only happened in telenovelas.

Sharpay didn't even scream. In those two seconds it took for her feet to leave the dock and her back to break through the ice, the only thing in her mind was Troy. What he was doing. What he would say when he found out. How Jason would tell him. Or would Lily tell him? Would he cry? Would he miss her? How much? How long would he mourn over her? Would he know how much she really-

But then the ice broke. The ice broke and the water engulfed her and frozen needles shot into her skin. Her every pore filled with frost as the air left her lungs. She thought she heard a muffled cry that only could have come from Jason. Because God knew Gabriella didn't care.

/

"Holy _shit_!"

Gabriella stood there frozen, watching as Jason shouted out in protest, unable to stop anything from happening though he clearly wished he could. He knelt for a moment, peering into the dark water under the ice. At the bubbles popping at the surface. Maybe he had a thing for Barbie. It'd explain the whole coming-to-save-her thing. Not that she'd planned on being caught, but if she had, Troy would have been the obvious guess. Jason wasn't exactly hero material. He stood up, whipping around while unzipping his coat, "Gabriella, are you _mental_?"

"I-I-I-"

"Help me or leave," he ordered, tossing the jacket on the ground. He looked at her for a split second before shaking his head. She stared at him, in his white long-sleeve thermal, until he turned around and stared into the broken sheet of ice, confused but determined. His chest rose as he took a breath, and he jumped in without another word.

She turned and walked in the opposite direction, feeling lost and defeated. She'd be in the water for a while before Jason could reach her. And it was freezing. And she'd be unconscious long before he ran out of breath. Plus, he'd have to try to resurface the two of them, anyway. And who knew how long that would take. She pulled the door of the boat shack open and stopped. That's when it hit her. She wanted Sharpay dead. Not just out of Hale, out of Eastwood. Dead. Out of life. And if that meant sacrificing Jason in the process, so be it.

/

If she had been conscious to be aware of it, she was sure her rescue would have gone something like: _She __felt __a __hand __clasp __her __arm, __and __tug __her __up __towards __the __surface __until __her __head __broke __through __the __slush __and __frozen __water. __There __was __a __scramble __and __Sharpay__'__s __body __was __heavy __with __layers __of __wet __clothing __but __Jason __managed __to __pull __both __of __them __onto __the __dock __and __into __the __freezing __air._

As it was, all she remembered was being petrified, scratching and pawing at the ice above her. She couldn't feel her body or find the hole where she'd penetrated the layer. How had she gotten so far away from it? Falling in had knocked all the oxygen from her lungs and there was a mouthful of ice water trying to make it's way into her lungs. And then her arms weren't pounding so hard anymore, and she felt herself sink a little. And then it got dark... and it didn't hurt so much anymore...

"_Blondie, __come __on._" _Pound __pound __pound __pound._

_Pound pound pound._

"_Sharpay, if you don't wake up I'll kill you." Pound pound pound._

_Pound pound- _

Jason sat back as Sharpay shot up, coughing violently, more water than carbon dioxide spewing out. He pushed her tangled frozen hair away from her face, patting her back lightly like he was burping a small child. She curled her body up, looking at the sweatshirt that was strewn inches from her feet. She clung to herself in a pathetic attempt to create warmth. Her chest was frozen but the bones hurt. Had he just given her CPR? Had Jason, Eastwood Ladies Man, just saved her life? All he kept saying was "You're going to be okay" and "You're alright, you're alright". Like he was trying to convince her that she hadn't just drowned and that she wasn't going to freeze to death. Which may have been a good thing, because she was pretty sure she was about to even though she'd lost feeling in a good two thirds of her body.

She coughed a few more times, the last drops of ice water escaping her lungs. Air and snowflakes hit her skin but she couldn't feel anything anymore. She took a breath, looking up at him, dripping wet, his green eyes dark against his now pale skin. He was breathing heavily, probably trying hard to not shiver so that she wouldn't worry. He'd saved her. Jason Cross had resuscitated her. She was alive. Because of Jason. She was never going to get over this. He could have died himself. "J-J-Jason, you're s-s-s-soaked."

Jason gave her an incredulous look while letting out a breathy laugh, "And you're turning dangerous shades of indigo. Here-" he reached over to let go of the jacket he'd thrown onto the dock, pulling it around her shoulders. "Jacket. Warmth."

"B-b-but you're-"

"Fine. I didn't just go into respiratory arrest. _You_ on the other hand," he pulled the jacket tighter, zipping it up to her neck. And then his arms were around her so quickly Sharpay wasn't sure she was actually breathing. But the sharp numbness of her skin was canceling out any other pain. She took a shaky breath and buried her chin into his shoulder, arms curled in between their bodies. "J-Jason?"

"Hm?"

"W-where's T-T-Troy?" She pictured him at his desk back at Stuart. Warm. Oblivious. Completely unaware that he had been the last thought running through her mind before she passed out. Would he think it was weird if she told him? No... no, she wasn't going to let anyone know. Jason pulled back and looked her in the eyes seriously. Maybe more serious than she'd ever seen him. "Listen to me, Sharpay, this is extremely important. Troy doesn't know about any of this. And he's not going to find out. Under any circumstances. Understand?"

She had a flashback of her ear pressed to Lily's bedroom door, listening to the two of them talking. How she didn't want Troy involved. Had she known this was coming or something? Couldn't she have, you know, stopped it from happening? "You and L-Lily-"

"Yes, eavesdropper. Congratulations, I'm Chief Executive Officer of the secret Protect Sharpay B-board." It was only then that Sharpay realized how cold he must actually be. She had his jacket on and was still ten levels south of an ice cube. He was clearly trying not to shiver either in an attempt to keep his macho act up or convince her that she was going to chatter herself to death. She leaned forward again, hugging him in a way she never imagined she would. He hesitated a moment as if he were just as confused by her action and then pat her back with his wet hands. She wasn't sure if she was helping or just making him colder.

She mustered up what little strength she had and forced her jaw to hold steady, "Thank you."

"Alright, don't get all ABC Family on me. It comes with the job description." He pulled back, fog coming from his breath. "And I don't know about you, but I'd like to get into some new clothes before we turn into ice sculptures or your lips turn that shade of blue permanently."

Sharpay shook as he began helping lift her up from the dock. She felt like her joints were frozen and she stumbled a few times trying to stand up, but she held onto his arm, uncovered and icy in his thermal. She felt horrible in his jacket while he stood there probably just as cold as she was. "How about s-some n-new skin?"

He nodded and smirked- a smirk that wasn't as humorous as usual. She figured she looked about as crappy as she felt. His lips were slowly turning blue as well. "I'll see what I can do."

/

"Were you _trying_ to kill her?" Angela yelled, voice echoing around the third floor dorm room. Gabriella sat perched on the edge of her old bed, ordered to remain there until Lily could come deal with her. She'd vanished into the tunnels the second Jason had brought Sharpay back to Hale all pale and dripping icicles. Seeing him in about the same state didn't seem to make her much happier. She'd put Martha on Sharpay duty, even though Jason insisted through chattering teeth that he could help plenty seeing as he'd done half the job already. Gabriella had watched in disgust as Jason ignored his own problems to make sure Sharpay was changed into layers of warmth and tucked under a mountain of blankets which he'd snuck under to avoid his eventual oncoming flu. And now Gabriella just sat waiting for Lily to burst through the bedroom door with a pissed James and an even angrier Troy. But she was almost anticipating the latter. Troy was sexy when he was infuriated. Blue eyes all narrowed and-

"Kind of a silly question, don't you think?" Martha asked in an even tone.

"Stupid's more like it," Jason mumbled under his breath. Gabriella shot him a look but he didn't care to acknowledge it. He was too busy watching Martha as she slid in through the now-open bedroom door with a bottle of Nyquil and two cups of steaming beverages balanced on top of one another. Gabriella watched as she set the Nyquil on Barbie's bedside table before holding out a mug to the two frigid patients sitting on the bed. "Cox Cocoa, perfect drinking temperature for the recently frozen."

Sharpay slid up against her pillows to free her arms. She took the mug, looking into the drink, "Cox C-Cocoa?"

"Two parts chocolate, one part peppermint," Jason recalled, sipping eagerly. "No whipped cream, though. Someone call Martha Stewart and tell her her prodigy is slacking."

"Excuse me for thinking of the heath of my friends before their taste buds," she retorted, holding a measuring cup eye level as she poured the medicine in and held it out to Sharpay. "Here. We'll get you some legitimate medicine from the infirmary tomorrow. Jason, did you-?"

"No, thanks, I'm good with the cocoa." He sipped it for added effect, and then adjusted one of Sharpay's blankets. "My immune system is Guantanamo. Nothing can penetrate. Focus on the eskimo, here."

Sharpay made a face as she took the Nyquil, handing the clear cup back to Martha before cupping both her hands around the warm mug and looking left to Jason. "When'd you get so nice?"

"Well you see, after you see a girl in her bra-"

"You saw her..." Martha started, looking down at Sharpay, then at Jason, then shaking her head at the Nyquil bottle. "Of course you did."

"Don't be jealous," he smirked.

Martha scoffed, "Like that would make me jealous."

"I'd be just as nice if you let me see yours."

"I'm sure you would."

"You know what's also stupid?" Angela interrupted, "You not only ran the risk of letting Sharpay drown under the ice, but you were going to let Jason die t-"

"For the love of God, I was not trying to kill them."

"Don't give me that shit, we heard the story."

"I didn't push her, she fell in on her own-" Sharpay scoffed audibly on the other side of the room, and Gabriella wanted to dump more ice water on her just to watch her writhe. "-and I didn't force him to jump in after her."

"Right, because I would have let her drown."

"Well excuse me for not forecasting your sudden onset of gallantry."

"Shut your mouth," James voice was hostile as it bounced around the room, announcing his entrance. A trail of chills ran all the way up her arms and down her back. He couldn't seem to look away from Gabriella fast enough, turning to Sharpay's bed. "Jason, are you alright?"

"Ten fingers, ten toes," the brunette answered. "Sharpay?" She nodded, and James spun back on Gabriella. He must have been taking intimidation lessons from Lily. "Besides creating a new record in the When Jealous Girls Forget to Take Their Meds Handbook, what exactly were you trying to accomplish with this?"

"I think she wants attention." His twin volunteered, stepping away from Gabriella.

"Well, here's your attention Montez. Tell me why you've gone completely off the rails."

"I-"

"Am so lucky we haven't called the cops on you."

"Angela," James said softer, crossing his arms, "Let her explain."

Gabriella took the moment to gather herself. What was she supposed to say? She took Barbie to the dock as a joke. She was going to leave her there blindfolded and run back into the tunnel before she knew what was happening. But then she'd remembered how she'd spent the past some-odd hours locked up with Troy and how she had been wearing his clothes and how much he tried to protect her and she decided she changed her mind. She wanted Blondie to feel twice the pain she was feeling and then some. But she couldn't very well say that, now could she? She shrugged a shoulder, "PMS?"

"Pretty Much Screwed," Jason whispered from Sharpay's bed. Sharpay stifled a giggle with her cocoa mug. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen."

She'd heard enough of him for tonight. "Jason, will you shut up?"

A cross look passed over James' eyes, "Don't even start with him."

"You don't get to order me around, Montez." Jason added to his statement. He looked more annoyed than James. Guess he had kind of a reason. A small one. But she didn't care. He shook his head. "Not after tonight. I don't know why I even put up with it before, or for this long, but I'm done being stupid."

"You're not stupid," Martha rolled her eyes.

He looked over to the blonde who had just finished lubing Sharpay's throat with Nyquil, "I just jumped into below freezing water in the middle of a blizzard."

Her brow furrowed, "To save Sharpay."

"Or possibly kill us both."

"It's called _bravery_."

"It's call-"

"Okay, I appreciate all the warm breath in front of my face, but c-can you not?" Sharpay nestled under her comforter, mug under her nose, and Martha turned her attention back to brushing her friend's hair. Gabriella glared. Shouldn't she have stopped shaking by now? What was with that stutter? She was clearly just looking for attention. She was loving every minute of everyone pining to make sure she was okay. Disgusting.

"Why isn't she in the infirmary?" James asked, ignoring Martha and Jason's little back-and-forth, he looked over his shoulder at Lily, who had been silent since returning to Hale with him. Even from across the room, Gabriella could tell a storm was coming. Lily invented the concept of 'Silence is Deadly'- or at least perfected it.

"She went home before the storm hit to be with her daughter," Martha responded, distracted from Jason.

"Seriously?" Martha nodded and the senior rolled his eyes. "What do we pay these people for?"

"You-?" Sharpay started, but stopped herself when everyone in the room turned to look at her. She shook her head and became very interested in her cup of hot chocolate. _Big__baby_. "Never mind."

"Want to choose a more innocent person to play games with, Gabriella?"

Gabriella turned to James, eye wide, a loud scoff escaping her throat. "_Innocent_? You think Barbie is innocent?"

"Watch the names," he ordered, and she waved a hand in the air. She'd had enough of this pity party. She started for the door. "If you're all done crying, I'd like to get some studying done."

James took a step back, blocking the doorway with a muscular arm. She looked up at him, tired of his Alpha act. He couldn't hurt her. He wouldn't even try. "Take a step and you'll be sorry you even blinked at Sharpay." Who did he think he was? Al Pacino? "Turn. Apologize. Mean it."

Gabriella shook her head, rolling her eyes. He wasn't being serious. An apology to Barbie? As if. The only thing she was sorry for was not pushing her off the dock sooner. She held back a grin and looked up at James. As much as she wanted to be done with this night and this conversation, she couldn't bring herself to say sorry to that bitch and mean it. "I can't."

"Then lie," said a tired voice. All heads snapped back in Sharpay's direction, focused on her small, shivering body. Gabriella felt a millisecond of guilt followed by a massive pang of jealousy when she saw Martha smoothing her hair back behind her ears. She blinked her stupid brown eyes and stared defiantly across the room at her. "You're good at that."

Jason smirked and looked down at the top blanket over her body, patting her leg. _Jerk_. How long had he been on her side? He used to despise Sharpay- torment her, it was delightful- and now he was Vice President of her fan club. Gabriella looked over to Lily, wondering if she had anything to add. She'd been silently observing the entire time which meant something was brewing in that intimidatingly gorgeous head of hers. And when she stayed silent, Gabriella knew it was true, reaffirmed by the sapphire glare she could practically feel herself being lazered in half. She swallowed the nervousness and disdain in her throat and turned back to the bed.

"I'm _sorry_," she said reluctantly, waiting until the blonde nodded at her before turning around to make a second attempt at leaving. James seemed to have resigned his post as Door Guard, standing now a step or two from Angela's side. Having the twins both staring at her with their powerful hazel eyes in a less-than-happy demeanor was almost as scary as Lily's alone. Almost. But not really.

"Gabriella?"

Oh. _Shit_.

She knew this had been coming. She closed her eyes and took a breath before turning towards Lily while trying to look as unaffected as possible. It was relatively easy- like Sharpay had said- she was a good liar. The senior stood at exactly the same spot she'd been since coming back with James. "You won't be coming back next semester."

What. The. FU- "Ex_cuse_ me?"

She raised a dark eyebrow, "Was I not clear?"

Gabriella shook her head. This was not happening. No. No no no no no. No. "You don't have that type of power."

"Don't I?"

"You _can__'__t_-"

"I just did."

"The Mothers-"

"Are even more disappointed in you than I am."

"Hale is for life. You said that. You told us all that." Gabriella turned to look at Angela, who seemed to be having some silent twin conversation with her brother via eye contact. Martha swallowed and looked away from her gaze. She looked back at Lily. "They can't change the rules. They-"

"Have made an exception to the rule on a count of your apparent homicidal tendencies. Congratulations. You're special." She took a step, arms dangling like a model at her sides. How could she be so calm while she was single-handedly ruining her life? "That's all you ever really wanted, right? To be special? To feel important?"

Tears were on the verge of falling as Gabriella ordered herself not to blink. Lily's face was unreadable but she seemed to be enjoying every minute of the torture. _Lie, __Gabriella. __Lie. __You __don__'__t __care.__You__'__re __better __than __this. _"I wasn't. Trying. To kill her."

"Don't even-"

"James." Lily shot him an understanding look to cut him off.

"And one more thing." Gabriella turned, only to see a dangerously amuse smile on Lily's lips. "You even dream about sending one of my girls into respiratory arrest again and I'll make sure every college from Cambridge to Bling's School of Beauty denies you."

"Your _girls_?" Gabriella repeated, feeling layer upon layer of her heart being peeled off. "Remember a week ago when I _was_ one?"

The smile dropped slowly and an offhand look overtook her flawless features. "Gabriella, you never were."

/

"You're excused now."

Sharpay watched in silent shock as Gabriella stared helplessly over her shoulder at Angela. But when she stood just as silent with her arms crossed, she turned to Martha. The small blonde opened her mouth, but nothing came out. It was useless. No one could override Lily. If she hadn't just pushed her to her death, Sharpay might actually feel sorry for Gabriella. She actually felt a tear coming to her eye.

Oh. Wait. No.

That was just the tingling sensation of her eyelids unfreezing.

Without bothering to look to James for help, she instead stormed out of the room, hair whipping in the air. Martha frowned and looked to keep busy by flattening the blankets covering Sharpay's legs. Angela looked at James, and then followed his gaze over to Lily, who looked unfazed by what she had just done. She was wearing the same outfit as before, when Sharpay was trying on the gowns, only now there was a slim fitting red sweatshirt that was just oversized enough for Sharpay to believe it was James'. Her black hair fell over it in curtains as she zipped it up to her chest. He examined her expression, walking towards her. "Think she got the point.?"

"Either that or we just pissed her off and sent her to devise her next attack," Angela answered. James looked over at her as he pushed the bedroom door shut. "Looks like someone's glass is half empty."

"She's not wrong," Lily said simply, letting James press his lips into her hair. He may have whispered something as his fingers stealthily slid into hers and Sharpay wasn't sure she'd ever longed to be next to Troy more than she did in that one moment. Sharpay looked over at Jason, who met her gaze and understood. The tears forming in her eyes were probably a dead give away. He ran a hand over her still-damp hair and rested his chin on her head when she curled against his chest.

"If he comes over now, he'll just ask questions," he answered softly, and then looked over at Martha. She reached for his mug and ran her hand over Sharpay's arm. Sharpay wondered if Martha was in on Lily's plan for Jason to watch over her. Was James? Angela? She looked over to Lily, "Was he awake when you went over there?"

She knew exactly what the question was even with the lack of detail. She looked over to Sharpay's bed, "He was studying. Came out to ask if I knew where Jason had 'disappeared to'."

Jason laughed, half sardonic, "If only he knew. I'd love to hear that conversation: '_What__'__s __with __the __vanishing __act, __Jase?_'" She sat up; his impression of Troy was uncanny. _"_Oh, it was nothing, I just had to run through the pitch black woods to reach your little not-so-secret lake because I took a wrong turn in the tunnels. Quite exhilarating. By the way, Gabriella tried to kill your-"

"What would happen if he did?" Sharpay asked, interrupting the rant he seemed to be having so much fun with by himself. She didn't want him beating himself up over anything. He saved her life. That was that. "Know, I mean. What would he do that you're so worried about?"

"We're not exactly sure," he answered.

"But we'd rather not find out," Lily added. She stepped away from James, closer to her bed. "Troy is an incredibly passionate person. It's what makes him such a strong leader. But it's also his downfall. Picture Troy at the PTC when Gabriella smacked him. Now multiply that to fit the current situation. He wouldn't know how to deal with it."

"Luckily we've never had to deal with Passionately Infuriated Troy," James added.

"And we don't plan to."

"Can I call him at least?" Sharpay asked, hoping her voice didn't crack as it got caught in her throat. "Please? I just... I need to hear his voice."

Martha smiled and gave her a cautious glance, "Sharpay-"

"I won't give anything away, I swear. Look, I'm not even shivering anymore," she was practically pleading now. The mere idea of hearing Troy's voice soothed her. They couldn't deprive her of that simple pleasure. She'd practically just died. Jason lifted the few layers of blankets he'd been under and stood up. Kelsi had some of Ryan's clothes in her room and he'd changed into them when they'd gotten back. He'd even gotten his hair to stay in a misshapen fohawk. He looked over at Lily. "I think she earned a phone call. She did sort of almost die."

For the hundredth time.

"Hale girls never say die," was all she said. She winked, very uncharacteristically, at Sharpay before turning back towards the connecting bathroom door. She caught James' hand and pulled him behind her into her room. Sharpay took hat as a yes. When she looked up at Jason he was nodding at Martha in the direction of the door. She took the half-empty mug from Sharpay and placed it on her bedside table. "I'll check on you later, okay?" She picked up her iPhone and handed it to her, smiling. "Have fun."

"Not too much fun, though, we'll be listening on the other side of the door." Jason smirked, scruffing up her hair. She rolled her eyes and pushed his hand away. He may have saved her from drowning, but he would always be Jason. Martha had walked around the bed and was pulling him away like Lily had James. "That's enough out of you."

"What? I'm her savior," he argued. "I've earned the right to tease for at least six months."

"Like you wouldn't be teasing her anyway."

Sharpay slid further under the covers once the door shut, finding Troy's number easily and listening to the dial tone. She curled onto her side and closed her eyes. Maybe she could pretend he was here. _Please __don__'__t __be __asleep, __please __don__'__t __be_- "Shar?"

He sounded tired. But right now she was too selfish to care. "Hi."

"What's the matter?" Why did he always ask her that? A nice, 'how are you' would suffice. Oh god. He was onto her. He knew her voice too well. She smiled to herself just to make her voice sound perkier. "Nothing... I just... can't sleep."

"Well, I'm done studying. Do you want me to come over?"

"No," she answered, a little too quickly. She pictured his brow furrowing suspiciously. _Damage __control, __Sharpay. __Be __cool. __Be. __Cool._ "It's late, I mean. Will you just... talk to me for a while? Until I fall asleep?"

"Sharpay, are you sure you're alright?"

"Troy, please?" Her voice cracked again and she turned her face against her pillow. She couldn't hold it in anymore. She was lying to Troy and she felt sick and someone wanted her dead and she couldn't talk about it to the one person she wanted to most. She tried to be as quiet as she could but something told her it wasn't working out to her benefit. Her sniffling nose was betraying her. She felt his voice in her ear, comforting, unquestioning. She was going to have some explaining to do tomorrow. "Shar, shhh."

_I __love _you_._

"I'm here, okay?"

_I really love you._

"I'm right here."


	34. The Golden Couple

Sharpay woke up with her phone still gripped in her hand, wedged safely in between her ear and her pillow. She had obviously slept like a rock without much rolling around. Probably an effect of all the excitement of last night's festivities. Though she wasn't even sure if _excitement_ was the right word. Maybe for Gabriella. Right up until that last part.

The last thing she remembered was Troy telling her a story about a boy and a girl who went traveling through Europe. She remembered wondering if the story was actually about Tiara and himself, or if perhaps he'd placed her in the girl's place as if he were imagining the future. Though her dreams had carried on their adventures, she'd fallen asleep long before Troy's story ended. Had he kept talking even though she'd passed out, in an attempt to keep her soothed? Had he said he said "Love you" before hanging up? No. Of course he hadn't.

Sharpay uncurled her fingers from her phone and rubbed at her eyes, unsure of exactly how long she'd been asleep. The Nyquil on her table had been replaced with a small dosage cup of white pills. Someone must have gotten into the infirmary early this morning. A small bottle of Fiji was there as well- a sign of Lily. She had her own personal stash in a mini-fridge in her room. It was still chilled when she picked it up to take the medicine. It felt weird to know that Lily had come in to check on her. Strange as if was, she couldn't imagine herself as an equal with Lily- or even so close a subordinate. She was too powerful and too beautiful and Sharpay was, well, not.

The sound of a slamming door brought Sharpay to full attention as she kicked off the remaining blankets from her body. She looked over at her desk, at the pile of books that sat closed and unstudied. She was going to fail out of Eastwood her first semester. Awesome. Her mom would love that. The entire student body had received an a-mail from Dean Lucas the previous day announcing the final exam schedule was still in place for Thursday and Friday. And to be even more lucky, being the bright student she was, Sharpay had opted to take her three AP tests instead of the final exams. Martha and Ryan had convinced her it looked better for colleges or some bologna. Right now she wished she hadn't. She had today and tomorrow to cram as much knowledge into her mind as possible.

And just to put the icing on top of the seventeen-tier cake, she felt sick. She had Gabriella's insanity to blame for that. She sneezed three times on the way to her bedroom door and heard the voices on the other side before she even pushed it open.

"-such a load of bullshit!"

Gabriella. Unmistakable.

"It's not like you're getting booted from Eastwood. It's just Hale."

Ryan? Possibly Zeke. The voice was soft and sounded further away.

"I _am_ just Hale."

"Right, because you show so much love for your other sisters. Now you mention it, I always threaten Jason's life to show my appreciation for Stuart."

Troy? He knew about her being kicked out? Had he found out everything else? If he hadn't, what was the story? Why hadn't anyone left a brief on her bedside table? She stepped out into the hallway, her yoga pants loosing the heat they'd retained from being under the covers. She folded her arms across her chest, feeling like there was leftover ice water still running through her veins. She sneezed again, and when she looked up she found herself looking at Troy. He'd been staring just long enough to catch her wiping her nose on her sleeve.

She was the definition of sexy.

"Hi."

"Hey," he smiled. A smile that assured Sharpay he had no idea what had happened a few hours ago. He'd probably be checking her for bruises and there'd be a noticeable tone of concern and diluted anger in his voice. But right now he was only brushing some hair behind her ear and examining her eyes. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine," she answered quietly. She still wasn't sure how much he knew and she wasn't about to be the one who broke the silence. He kissed her and for a moment she forgot what happened last night when his touch was all she had wanted. But only for a moment. "Why are you here?"

"Martha texted me this morning and said you were stressed over your AP exams. She was afraid you were going to make yourself sick so I came over to try and relax you. You were asleep when I got here, so I sat and listened to Gabriella whine about how unfair her life is all day. Guess Lily finally had enough of all the crap she'd been pulling."

"Yeah..." she mumbled, avoiding eye contact, afraid he'd see the truth in her eyes. She looked over his shoulder at Kelsi's now-open door, where a mixture of voices were still spilling out of. She looked back to him, noting the differences in his mismatched eyes. "Wait- you said you've been here all day?"

"Mhmm. Since about 11. You still talk in your sleep, huh?" The smile was still on his face when he noticed the confusion on hers. "It's like 10.30, Sharpay."

"I hadn't even looked at the clock," she shook her head. Great. One less day to study. She ran her hand over the side of her face as Martha strolled into the hallway from Kelsi's room. How many people were in there right now? She was shaking her head, seeming pretty frazzled. "I don't remember the exact moment you got so controlling but I'd like to go back there and- pardon the rudeness- smack you upside the head."

"God Martha," Gabriella scoffed, still invisible to Sharpay as she stood in Kesi's room. The small blonde turned to look at her. Sharpay had never seen her look so irritated. She hadn't even though it was possible. "What crawled up your skirt?"

"She's wearing jeans, G," Jason called from inside Kelsi's room.

She lifted her palms to Gabriella, "I can't with you anymore. Please just stop talking before you lose someone else as a friend."

"What's all that about?" Sharpay asked Troy, wrapping a hand around his arm. He was warm. Warm and familiar and safe. _I_ _won__'__t_ _let_ _anything_ _happen_ _to_ _you_. He placed his free hand over hers. "Gabriella's been picking fights with everyone who blinks at her the wrong way. Started at lunch. She asked Taylor to pass her the salad dressing. I think Taylor gave her Italian instead of Balsamic and there was a discussion of calories and it was all downhill from there."

"Maybe she thinks if she's angry with everyone it'll be easier for her to leave?" _Wait_ _a_ _minute,_ _why_ _am_ _I_ _sticking_ _up_ _for_ _her?_ _She_ _just_ _tried_ _to_ _kill_ _me._ Troy shrugged, and actually sounded a little sad when he said, "Maybe. I don't know. I used to be able to understand her even when she was acting crazy, but it's not the not the same anymore."

She looked up at him, "I'm sure if you kissed her she'd tell you all sorts of secrets and you'd understand and be B-F-Fs again."

"Want to know who I think about kissing?"

"Megan Fox?"

Troy smirked and squeezed her hand, kissing her again. Maybe he was making a point that he didn't care if she was sick or not. Or that he could help her de-stress. She didn't care either way. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and she leaned into him, wondering how much time they'd spend like this during Christmas break. Three days and they'd be living in their respective Manhattan apartments. She at The Bristol, he at the Four Seasons. Would they still have sleep overs? Would he tell her bedtime stories when she was sick? She pictured them ice skating in Rockefeller Center under the tree. Maybe his Christmas present to her would be the L word. _Stop_ _it,_ _Sharpay,_ _let_ _it_ _go_ _for_ _now_. To be honest, after admitting it to Jason, saying it was the only thing she could think about. Besides, you know, staying alive and stuff.

"Perfect. Just what I wanted to see," Gabriella fumed as she exited the bedroom at the other end of the hall. Sharpay turned her head. Truthfully, she was petrified of the girl now. She curled further into Troy and he suspected nothing, rubbing her back. _You_ _have_ _no_ _idea_. "Gabriella, you need to calm down."

"No, see, that's where you're wrong. What I _need_ is Barbie to go back to Albuquerque where she belongs."

"She belongs here now," he challenged simply. No tone of anger or defensiveness in his voice. Gabriella's, however, was full of it. "And what, I don't?"

He shook his head and loosened his hold from Sharpay. "I didn't say that."

"No, but I'm sure you were thinking it."

"Want to know what I'm actually thinking?"

Gabriella clasped her hands in front of her like she was praying. She was acting bitchier than usual- and _that_ was saying something. Especially directed at Troy. "Please, Troy, enlighten me."

"I'm trying to think of how I lost a friend in less than a month. And why they'd want to hurt me so badly by hurting by someone I care about."

Sharpay looked down. _Someone_ _I_ _care_ _about_ was a very long jump from _someone_ _I_ _love_. Gabriella's face had softened. There was still a visible sense of irritation in her eyes but her feelings for Troy had clearly returned to her face. "I wasn't trying to hurt you."

"Well you did."

She straightened up and took a breath, trying to compose herself. "I'm sorry it worked out that way."

"You know I don't like seeing you get kicked out, Gabriella. But if you want to be one of the best, it takes work. You can't let it get to your head. You abused your power and this is the consequence," he stared into her eyes like he was trying to dig past the act she had on 24/7. Like he was trying to understand like he used to be able to. Sharpay had never really seen him look at her this way. It was weird. It was Gabriella. "I'm sorry it worked out this way, too."

"Admirable sentiments," Jason smirked, coming into view and hanging on the doorframe. Gabriella snapped out of whatever trance she had fallen into while staring at Troy and spun on him. She brushed past him down the stairs but not before adding a quick "Screw you" for good measure. He looked innocently at Troy and Sharpay and then at Martha, who was uncharacteristically slouched on the wall across from Kelsi's room. "Was it something I said?"

"She's going downstairs to put us both on her hit list," Martha mumbled, clearly upset over fighting with Gabriella. Unlike Sharpay, the two of them had actually been good friends. Jason laughed, walking over and patting her shoulder supportively, understanding. His head inclined towards her but his green eyes met Sharpay's. Somehow this escaped Troy's notice. She looked across the hall at him. "It'll take a lot more than Gabriella Montez to bring us down."

Sharpay smiled. It was weird feeling so close to Jason. If someone had told her on her first day at Eastwood that he'd save her life or give her motivational pep talks she would have laughed. There was a lot more to him than smugness and womanizing. He spread his hands out to his sides, as if just realizing her. "Looks like Sleeping Blondie's finally been kissed awake. You know, you can get all the beauty sleep you want but you'll never be as pretty as me."

"You should spend less time looking in the mirror and more time playing videos games," Sharpay countered, snaking her hand into Troy's. "What was the score again? 31 - 2?"

"It was 31 - 3, actually," he corrected as she smirked and turned to pull Troy into her room. "Now who's the cocky one?"

"Well, it's nice to see the dynamic of your relationship has returned to normal." He pushed the door closed behind him and Sharpay immediately found his lips, which seemed to take him a bit by surprise. She didn't waste any time throwing her arms around his neck and sliding her hands into his hair. She had to relish this time. Who knew how much of it she'd had left to do it between Gabriella's attempted murders and Tiara coming back. She paid extra close attention to Troy's hands as they hit the sliver of skin exposed when her arms were lifted, how they never stood still. He pulled back just enough to take a breath. He lifted one hand to brush away some of her bangs but half of them fell right back in front of her face. "Did I do anything special to deserve that, or-?"

Sharpay smiled and shook her head, tip-toeing to kiss him again. She just wanted to kiss him. And touch him. And sit with him. And just be with him. She smoothed her hands over the front of his dark green t-shirt. "Just had a long night."

Putting it mildly.

"Just think about it this way," he said to her frown. He was clearly thinking that all of this was because of her pre-exam 'stress'. She wanted to tell him. She wanted to tell him so bad. But she couldn't. There were a lot of things she couldn't tell him. "In three days you won't have to worry about school anymore."

"Mm," she mumbled, turning away from him and walking towards her bed. She sat down, trailed by Troy who followed her actions. He stared at her profile while she stared at the ground. He might have been wondering what she was thinking, but she was wondering what was going on in his mind. What was in his thoughts? "That's not what you're really worried about, is it?"

Sharpay closed her eyes and shook her head. _No._ _Out_ _of_ _all_ _the_ _things_ _on_ _my_ _list_ _of_ _worrisome_ _things,_ _school_ _is_ _on_ _the_ _bottom_. But she couldn't tell him she was worried about Gabriella killing her. Or that Tiara would come back and take Troy away. Or that she and Troy wouldn't make it through holiday break. Or that she'd tell Troy about Gabriella and Lily would be mad. Or that she'd tell Troy she loved him and he wouldn't feel the same way. She had a lot more on her mind than he could know right now. Maybe she could ease him into it...

"What did you and Tiara used to do over holiday?"

"As in, will you and I be seeing one another after we go home Saturday afternoon?" Sharpay could feel Troy staring at her even though she wasn't looking at him. That may have been what she was getting at with her question, but she actually _was_ a little curious as to how they spent their away-from-Eastwood time. She fiddled with her Fox bracelet. "Maybe."

"Well, we'll be on the same train home," he reached out for her nervous hand, weaving his fingers through hers. "Tell your mom to cancel your driver and you can drop your stuff at the Seasons for the night. We could literally spend the rest of the day together if that's what you wanted."

_Okay,_ _he_ _is_ _officially_ _the_ _sweetest_ _boy_ _alive_. She decided not to tell him that she didn't have a personal driver- or that she'd probably be taking a taxi. Then again, last time she called her mom she was still in a relationship with Mr. Gold Card. Who knew what she had going on over in their apartment. She probably had new Hastens mattresses put in with some Frette linens and went out with him to eat at Jean Georges. Hell, the only reason Sharpay knew what those things were was Lily's mention of them. She was the one who had the $425 duvet cover and ate the $98 dinners. Not Sharpay. Sharpay was the lame one who dragged Nolan to California Pizza Kitchen instead of Smith & Wollensky and Victoria's Secret instead of La Perla. "Well I don't want to be all needy... I can handle a few hours without you."

"Mm, but I'm not sure I can handle too many." He smiled and tugged her hand closer to kiss her. She tried hard not to frown against his lips. She had to tell him the truth. This was killing her. "Jason's spending the night at my suite before going home with his brother Aiden on Sunday. We were gonna hook up with the Fosters at 1OAK- you're obviously welcome to come. You can meet the rest of... our..."

Sharpay wasn't sure if he'd trailed off or she'd just gotten too caught up in her inner dialogue.

"What're these from?" Troy asked. Suddenly he was inspecting her hand and tracing the healing scrapes covering her skin with his finger. He stopped on a bruise near her wrist. Her eyes went wide for a moment as she pulled her hand back into her sleeve. She hadn't even noticed those- most likely from when she was under the ice, pounding at the surface to get out. She'd been so focused on being freezing and sleeping and lying that she hadn't even noticed them until now. What the hell was she going to say to explain them? A cat broke into Hale and took vengeance on her hands? She was studying so viciously that she got textbook paper cuts?

"Oh... I, um- the steps in the tunnel to get back to Hale. I tripped..." she looked up him for a second and then turned away. "It was dark. You guys should invest in a string of Christmas lights or something."

"Shar-" He reached for her hand again but she stood up, raiding her mind for a way to change the subject. She looked at her desk, at her pile of books. If he thought she was worried about her exams, she was going to milk it. "I should really study some more," she picked up her French book and held it to her chest. "Don't you think?"

"What I _think_ is you need to relax with the studying before you psych yourself out any further." He tilted his head and pat the bed next to him. She looked down at the book in her arms and let out a long breath through her nose. He was right. She needed to relax. And while she wasn't exactly tired, cuddling up next to Troy and listening to his heartbeat sounded like the greatest thing in the world right now.

Unfortunately the heartbeat had only soothed her for so long. She hadn't slept for more than a couple hours. And her dreams had been filled with running. She woke up with a moist forehead and sore legs. Her mom had always told her that being chased in your dreams meant you were running from something. So what did it mean? That she was running from the truth? Running from a real relationship with Troy because of a lie? Because of her inability not to open up to him about her massive insecurities?

She ran her hand over his shirt. She couldn't do it anymore. She couldn't lie to him like this. Sharpay lifted her head careful from his sleeping chest and slowly removed the arm he had curled around her body. She tried her best not to wake him as she stood up and walked towards the door. She looked back at him as she pulled it open, determined to haggle her way to Lily's OK on telling him the truth. Besides the whole loving him thing. She'd keep that to herself for now.

She glanced over at the clock and sighed. Six forty three. Lily would be asleep for at least another hour. Maybe she'd go wait downstairs. Watch some rerun on HBO. Anything to get her mind off of the lies. She let go of the doorknob as quietly as possible once she was on the other side.

"Early bird, huh?"

Sharpay lifted her head and saw James rounding the top of the staircase, a cup of coffee in his hand. The steam radiating from it made her feel colder than she actually was. She pulled her sleeves over her hands. "I didn't actually sleep. Not for long anyway."

"Mm," he acknowledged, taking a sip of his beverage. "Troy still out?" She nodded. He took another sip. "He's a Lily. Sleeps until the last possible minute. For some reason I can't sleep if the sun is up."

"I'd rather be awake at night..." He gave her a curious glance and she elaborated, "It's just- when bad things happen to me around here they tend to be between the hours of 1 and 2 AM. And when they do I can't fall asleep until 6 anyway."

"You've been through a lot of unwarranted crap, I'll give you that. But you're a trooper. You've got drive. Strength." He took another sip. "It's part of why you're in Hale."

_Huh?_ "Part?"

"How're you feeling, by the way?"

She chose to ignore his first statement and follow him with his change of topic. She shrugged a shoulder, "I don't know. How am I supposed to feel?"

"Like your life isn't in danger," he offered. But then, as if he realized that was near impossible, "Or like you're safe with us around. Which you know, right? You know we're not letting anything else happen to you?"

"I kn-"

"Why wasn't I invited to the sunrise session?" Jason asked. Sharpay heard his voice before she turned to see him sliding out of Martha and Brooke's bedroom. He closed the door quietly behind him. He didn't look too tired. Maybe he'd been awake for a while, too.

She turned away from James and looked him up and down, curiously, "What, is everyone sleeping in Hale now?"

Jason lifted his hands, "Trust me, I don't enjoy being up at the crack of dawn. I'm simply doing my job. Can't protect you all the way across the campus, now can I?"

"Look guys, I appreciate all the safe-keeping, but you don't have to protect me when Troy's here. She won't try anything when he's around."

"If he's asleep he won't know, will he? Just like you didn't know about last night when she tried to sneak into your room while you were sleeping," he was whispering now, nodding at the horrified look in her widened brown eyes. "I stopped her before she even touched the doorknob, don't worry. But see that shock? Right there?" He pointed in between her eyes and then tapped her nose. _Now_ _is_ _not_ _the_ _time_ _to_ _be_ _condescending,_ _Jason_. She swatted his hand away. "On Troy's face that would be anger. You don't want to see him like that."

"He's right, Sharpay," James agreed, voice low. "We all understand you don't like lying to him- we don't either. But that's how it works in this world. Lies are everywhere."

"Well, what if I don't want to be one of the liars? I haven't been so far and I'd rather not start by lying to Troy. Maybe if he hears it from me he won't even be mad."

"Nothing you say to Troy will make him okay with this, Blondie."

"Okay with what?"

/

Troy opened the door, looking from Jason to Sharpay to James. They all turned to look at him, caught in the act. He'd only heard about fifteen seconds of their conversation from behind the door but it didn't sound like he was supposed to. In fact, it sounded like they were keeping something from him. He just couldn't figure out what. Yet. He looked back to Jason and repeated himself.

Sharpay was biting her lip and looking nervously across the hall at his roommate, and Troy couldn't place what the hell could be going on. She turned to look at him, "Troy, don't be mad at us."

What's there to be mad about?" He asked calmly. Which was technically the truth. Technically. So what if Sharpay and his best friends were holding something back from him. Why ever would that make him mad? "I'm just curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat," Jason responded.

"Gabriella is to Curiosity as Sharpay is to Cat," Sharpay mumbled. James sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Troy processed the analogy easy enough- he just didn't understand it. Or maybe he did. Or maybe he didn't want to. Or maybe he was still asleep and he was dreaming. Gabriella didn't kill Sharpay. She was standing two feet in front of him. He could practically smell her shampoo.

"Lily will not be happy about this," James said under his breath. Sharpay looked over at him, "She can yell at me, then. I'm the one who told him- she knew I wanted to. She probably figured I wouldn't be able to control myself for long. You know her better than anyone, I'm sure. She was probably already expecting it."

"Someone's inner Hale is showing," Jason smirked. He looked over at Troy, who still couldn't figure out this whole Gabriella-Sharpay-Kill scenario. Had it just happened before he woke up? "You seem confused."

Oh, really? How observant of you to notice.

"That might be because no one is actually explaining anything. I can only deduce so much on my own." He looked away to Sharpay, who blinked up at him and bit the inside of her cheek. She brushed some hair behind her ear and he noticed the small cuts on her hand again. She had called him, sounding at the verge of tears. She had slept most of the day. It wasn't really the exams she was stressed about. He pieced a little more together. "You didn't really trip, did you?"

She looked at her hand, her face going a little paler. She couldn't make eye contact with him as she crossed her arms over her chest. Whatever had happened was clearly haunting her. "Gabriella is going to try to convince you that I did."

"Sharpay, look at me," he put a hand on her shoulder and turned her body towards him. He slid his hand down to her elbow, and the back up, lifting her chin. Troy didn't think she meant to look so fragile. "Tell me what happened."

/

Through the bathroom door Gabriella could hear someone knocking on her door. Standing in her robe, she couldn't imagine who would be knocking at seven in the morning. Kelsi didn't knock and Martha wasn't speaking to her at the moment. She was at the top of Eastwood's Most Wanted list. Who could possibly need to talk to her so badly that it couldn't wait until breakfast? She finished wrapping her hair dryer and put it in the under-sink cabinet. "Gabriella?"

_Oh_ bbk_shit_.

He didn't sound terribly upset. But then again, if he was, he probably wouldn't show it. He may have been showing more anger than usual lately, but he was still Troy. She hoped. She fixed her hair in the mirror one more time, thanking the heavens that she put her makeup on first. He was standing about three steps in from her door, looking at her from the second she stepped out of the bathroom. "Morning, Troy."

He didn't even look her up and down. The fact that she was nearly naked under her robe had no affect on him whatsoever. "Don't play stupid, Gabriella, it's not helping your case."

She turned to her closet and caught his angry blue gaze in the mirrored door before she slid it open. "I wouldn't know how to play stupid if I tried."

"You're right. Manipulation is more your type of game, right? Or is Deceit? I'm not really sure. Whatever means you're good at faking accidents."

She swallowed a lump in her throat. He knew. That blonde bitch had told Troy some exaggerated lie about the other night. "It _was_ an accident."

"Bullshit."

She pulled a white silk blouse off the hanger with one hand, turning on him. "Go on. Say it. I can hear it in your voice. There are more curse words on the very tip of your tongue."

"Don't mock me."

She shook her head and turned back to her closet. She reached up and grabbed a pair of J Brand skinnies from the top shelf. She looked at the bottom of her closet, making out the outline of a small box hiding in the shadows. Why did he always think _she_ was the bad guy?

Maybe she should stop almost killing his girlfriend.

Or she continue until she succeeds... Which she would.

She walked back towards the bathroom, pausing to turn in the doorframe, "Please feel free to continue this riveting conversation while I get changed."

"Why?" Was the only thing he said as she shut the door. His voice was calmer, if only slightly. She put her clothes on the counter and looked at her face. "Why what?"

"Have you changed? I don't like this you. I don't know where she came from, but this Gabriella isn't the one we all wanted to be friends with. She's devious and rude and... I don't even want to be in the same room as this girl. I don't recognize her."

Somehow a tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped it away angrily and turned away from the mirror. She didn't recognize her either. Gabriella didn't cry. Queen Bees were unwavering. She hung her robe up on the back of her door and grabbed her Michael Kors top, pulling it over her head and adjusting her hair. What did Troy mean he didn't like her? Of course he did. They were destined to be together. Just like Tiara, Sharpay was just another speed bump. Another blonde, wannabe Queen speed bump. They kept popping up like acne on a pubescent boy. The only difference was that Gabriella wasn't willing to be friends with this one. It took enough will power not to kill the first. Though it was much easier to be friends with Tiara .

"Should I expect the old Gabriella is gone and not coming back?"

_No, I'm coming back- as soon as Barbie leaves._

"The old Gabriella was boring." Lie, of course. Gabriella smirked as she grabbed her jeans. She could never be boring. It was like saying Sharpay was tolerable.

"The old Gabriella was _sane_."

Her jaw locked and she pushed her legs harder through the denim than necessary, shimmying slightly. If she didn't love Troy so much he'd really be starting to piss her off. "What are you getting at?"

"Do I really have to say it?"

She buttoned herself up and looked in the mirror one more time, flipping her hair. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Troy was examining the photograph of she, Tiara, Angela and Lily. He turned and blinked at her, face calm. She saw the anger in his features, diluted with memories of 'Old Gabriella'. He shook his head. "I honestly don't know if I should be openly furious with you or try and be civil."

"You couldn't be furious with me if you tried." He raised an eyebrow in challenge. She bit her lip and stood up straighter. _I_ _take_ _it_ _back._ _I_ _didn__'__t_ _mean_ _it._v_I_ _take_ _it_ _back._ "Troy, I-"

He took a step towards the door, "Gabriella, I'm sorry if this hurts you- I don't know if I should be or not, but I am."

She felt her breathing coming quicker, a tingling sensation in her senses. "I don't understand."

"We aren't friends anymore... I can't do it."

"What?" Her voice cracked, but she coughed to cover it up. He looked down. _Good._ _Feel_ _bad._ _Feel_ _enough_ _guilt_ _to_ _love_ _me_ _like_ _you__love_ _that_ _bitch._ "Troy don't be ridiculous. It was an accident that she fell, I told you. I wouldn't lie to you."

"Mm," Troy nodded, turning around to walk out. "And if your word meant anything to me anymore maybe I'd believe that."

/

"The cooks always get lazy during finals week."

"Lasagna is lazy?" Sharpay asked, cutting a piece of her own with her fork. She'd eaten nearly the entire plate and her side of salad. It looked fine to her. Jason, on the other hand, was sawing his second helping it viciously with his knife.

He looked up at her, pointing the knife, "I missed out on Taco Tuesday, Blondie. They should have pushed it back a day. I need my Mexican."

"I'll book you a room at the Seasons in Punta Mita," Troy offered, smirking. Jason flashed him a fake 'thank you' smile. Sharpay wondered if he knew the locations of every Four Seasons hotel. There must be like sixty.

"No, no," Kelsi argued putting her phone down and her finger up. "We've had le Toiny planned since September. I had my agent plan my shoots around it."

"What's le Tony?" Sharpay asked. Gabriella covered her mouth with her hand to stop laughing. "It's called Hotel le _Toiny_. And it's a resort that you can't afford."

"Gabriella." Troy said simply. Sharpay saw Chad shift uncomfortably at his side of the table. If she couldn't afford it there was no way that he could. "Don't start."

"It's true, though. I mean, normally we'd be staying at Tiara's villa but not all of our families can afford a seven bedroom-"

"Alright, enough," Troy interrupted, but Gabriella didn't seem to care. "Or maybe she could spend the money to just fly back to-"

"Gabriella, I said _enough_." Troy looked at her and shook his head. "You just got kicked out of Hale, don't make me insist you start sitting at another table." Gabriella opened her mouth to protest again but he started again before she got the chance, "I'll do it, you know I will. I don't owe you that much anymore."

Gabriella's lips became a straight line as she stared down Troy. She pushed away her plate of salad and stood up form the head of the table. If this were _Mean_ _Girls_, Sharpay imagined this would be the scene where Gabriella would yell 'You can walk home, bitches!' She simply stormed away instead, her Tory Burch boots tapping loudly against the floor over the noise of the other students' chatter.

"_Ugh_," Martha sighed loudly, slumping into her chair. She caught the attention of the table, breaking the tension of the group without even noticing. She unbuttoned her peacoat and dropped her BlackBerry on the table, looking up innocently at all the curious faces. "Sorry... didn't mean to be so dramatic."

"Can't outshine the scene you just missed," Jason replied with a mouth full of lasagna as she shot him a confused look.

"See? This is why we can't have nice things," Ryan said, nodding to her phone. Kelsi shook her head, "Just why we keep buying new ones."

"My dad just called me complaining that his wife accused him of cheating at a strip club or something. She found a wad of fives in his wallet- or the "maid" did anyway. She's insane. She's worse than his second wife."

"Was she the one who insisted he avoid anything with gluten in it?" Kelsi asked, eyes on her phone. Martha grimaced, "Thanking god I only had to deal with that menu over Christmas break.

"So you don't think he was at a strip club?"

Jason was still smirking, "No, her dad tips in twenties."

Martha flashed another sour expression down at the table, "I wish I could argue that that wasn't true."

Sharpay took her last bite and picked up her napkin to wipe her mouth. She folded it up onto her plate and looked over at Troy, who had pulled out his phone since Martha came back into the cafeteria. He slid it into the pocket of his leather jacket and caught her looking at him. "Want to get out of here?"

"Sure," she smiled, admittedly relieved. She wanted to study a little more before getting a solid ten hours of sleep before her AP exams. Ryan said something about a calc equation, clearly unknowing that Brooke had given her a stolen copy of the exam with the answers. She felt horrible about cheating but even Taylor had admitted to looking at them. Apparently there was a few circulating Hale in multiple subjects. No wonder they made up the top twenty percent of Eastwood. She pat Martha on the shoulder sympathetically before sliding her hand into Troy's, following him out the door. It was strange how accustomed she'd already become to the stares of the other students. Both clad in their leather jackets- his notably more expensive- she felt they achieved a sort of symbiosis.

It was a much more silent walk than normal. The paths had all been shoveled and students hurried to and from the dorms and library to cram for the next two days. She kept feeling Troy's cell vibrate in his pocket but he ignored it. She wanted to ask him something. Anything. All day he'd been acting weird. French. Just... quiet. She figured it was better to let him think. But too much thinking was never a good thing. She just didn't want to get him any more upset.

They were closing in on Hale before he said anything. "Just so it's known, life here normally doesn't include all this drama."

"Oh, really? What is it normally include."

"Mm. Much more alcohol. Which sounds very appealing right now." He smirked and squeezed her hand, letting it go. She climbed the first step and turned to face him, sliding her hands around his shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said, rather unconvincingly. She smiled sadly, "Which is the universal code for the exact opposite."

She leaned her forehead against his, "You _are_ allowed to talk to me about stuff, you know."

Troy ran his arms over her shoulders, resting them in the crook her elbows. He took a breath, "It's just weird. She was one of my first friends here. I don't particularly want to forgive her- what she did doesn't deserve forgiveness. You could've been..." He pulled his head back, hands finding hers again. He looked down at the scratched on her palms. She caught her frown before he could see it, hiding her skin from his view by turning her hands against his. "Hey, why don't you ask me to be your date to the Gala?"

She managed to get a genuine Troy grin out of that. He looked up at her, blue eyes almost as happy as normal. "I thought you already were."

"Well, I could assume, but I'm a girl and we like to feel like we're wanted. Especially when we already have gorgeous designer gowns imported from god knows where hanging in our closets already."

"Lily?"

"Mm," she smiled in affirmation, thinking of the white Badgley Mischka. He took a breath and a step closer to her, "Sharpay Evans, will you and your gorgeous imported designer gown accompany me to the Annual White Gold Gala this coming Friday?"

"I don't know, I'll have to think about it..." she leaned forward and caught his lips, soaking up every second of the moment. She felt a warmth spread through her body. He smiled and pulled away, lifting her hands to kiss her knuckles. Both of them. And then pulling her in for one light kiss on the lips. There was a butterfly explosion in her gut as she walked up the steps. She swiped her ID and pushed the door open, turning back to Troy. "Call me later?"

He nodded and she turned into the heated hallway. She unzipped her Stuart Wietzman wedges and left them in under the coatrack next to a pair of thigh-high black boots which could only be Kelsi's. No one else could pull them off. She unzipped her jacket as she walked up the stairs. Hale sounded quiet. Everyone was either at dinner or in their rooms studying. Which she should be doing. She changed into a pair of plain back Soffe shorts and her East High pullover. She felt like she was at home. And then she wondering what Jimmie was up to. She hadn't spoken to him since before the blizzard. She really had to give him a call. He always knew how to help her relax.

She walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth before she was tempted to go downstairs and make a cup of espresso. She picked up her kid-like purple glitter toothbrush and was about to run it under the water when she heard her name come from Lily's room. The door was ajar, and Sharpay set down her toothbrush on the counter, inching to hear more of the conversation. She didn't hear another voice, so it was obvious that she was on her phone.

"No, he was fine. I think he held back mostly because she told him to... Mhmm... Yeah, she has quite an influence on him." Wait a second... was Lily referring to _her_? She'd said her name only moments before, Sharpay was positive. She knocked on the half-open bathroom door and waited in the doorframe as Lily held up a finger, reclined on her couch. The senior smirked, knowing she'd heard the last statement. "Listen Celia, she just walked in... I'll see you at the Gala... Sure, I'll tell her... Until then."

"Who was that?" Sharpay asked, fiddling with a string hanging from her baggyred sweatshirt. Even though is was after dinner and she wasn't going anywhere, she felt underdressed with Lily in James' high-end sweatshirt and some silk shorts. Did the girl even own a pair of sweatpants?

"Celia," she answered, standing up and stretching her arms out. "She's the Hale Mother. One of them. The one that all the other ones listen to."

"Sort of like the _you_ of the group?"

She smirked, "Kind of."

Sharpay watched her cross the room and toss her phone on her bed. The sparkle of it caught her eye. It looked like she'd bedazzled it... with diamonds... "You talk to her about Troy?"

"Well, we were talking about you and she asked about him. Hale and Stuart are family houses, Sharpay. The Fathers and Mothers know each other's sons and daughters- not that we're related of course." She scrunched up her nose and shook her head. Still looking like a runway model. It wasn't fair. "With the lot of us dating each other, that'd cross some sick level of incest too uncomfortable to imagine."

Sharpay smiled as Lily pulled her hair back into a loose bun with a hair tie dangling on the wrist with her watch. It was probably designer. Did designers make hair ties? "Do any of them mind? You know, that Hales and Stuarts date each other?"

"Not really, no. They understand since they went through it themselves." She sat back on her bed, cross-legged near her pillows. She grinned like a girl at a slumber party. "I think you've earned the rights to know the relationship lineage of our current members. Interested?"

_Interested?_ She was about to sit and gossip with Lily Moore. This was more exciting than... well... almost anything. She wasn't sure if that was a sad fact or not, but Sharpay nodded anyway. Lily pat the bed and she carefully sat down on the blue and white duvet, which matched nicely with the color scheme of the rest of the room. Blue and gold. Very Eastwood. Very Hale.

"Well, I'll start with the people you know best, because it'll be more interesting, obviously. So, Martha... Not very big on the fraternizing. Freshman year she was dating some guy Peter from her day school, but they broke up four months into the semester. Then at The G she and Ryan hooked up and they dated until September of last year, I think, before he started dating Kelsi in December..."

Sharpay watched as Lily drew out the diagram of hook ups with her hands, gesticulating in a manner that made her all the more personable. Apparently Kelsi had a short stint with Jason freshman year and Jason had a thing with Angela sophomore year and Ryan had almost got with Taylor, but then Chad transferred in. Jason had also had a thing with Ryleigh while Nolan had hooked up with Gabriella and Sharpay couldn't help but notice that two names never came up in the conversation: Troy and Tiara. She could ask her about them- Lily obviously knew everything about everyone who wasn't even in Hale or Stuart.

"...the Golden Couple."

Sharpay blinked, "The... the what?"

Lily was outlining her watch with her manicured fingertips, brushing away nonexistent dust. "That's what they called the pair of them. The Eastwood student body was enthralled with them. It was a bit strange, in all honestly. There used to be a gossip blog called Eastwood Eavesdrops run by the Lit Club. They took submissions and- let's just say it was very much a Gossip Girl knockoff."

"What happened to it?"

"Some narc told a teacher who told our gorgeous Dean. He saw it was shut down immediately. The page is still there it just hasn't been updated since October.

"Are you... I mean, were you on it?" Sharpay asked, instantly feeling stupid. Of course she was on it. Lilian Moore _was_ the eyes and ears of Eastwood. She probably submitted 98% of the posts. No, actually, Lily kept her knowledge to herself until she felt it vital to indulge a listener. Lily grinned up at her, "Once or twice."

"And... Troy..."

Lily nodded, "Mhmm. He and Tiara had a page dedicated to their relationship. Pictures and some 'Were Spotted At' type things. Sharpay-"

Her eyes must have glossed over in all of her confused emotion. She was thinking about Eastwood Eavesdrops. What the layout would look like. What the content would be. _The_ _Golden_ _Couple_ _spotted_ _hand-in-hand_ _walking_ _to_ _the_ _North_ _Wing_ _for_ _class._ Pictures of Tiara and her gorgeous eyes staring at Troy. Troy smiling lovingly at her. Lovingly. Loving. Love.

She squeezed her eyes and opened them slowly. She had to see this blog. She had imaged of Troy and Tiara in her mind, but to see actual photo evidence... She hated and loved the idea at the same time. It was killing her and making her curious. Lily reached a hand out and placed it on Sharpay's knee. "Sharpay, I can't tell you not to look at EE. But you have to know that whatever you read on Troy... on his relationship with Tiara... It doesn't matter. The pictures are going to hurt. They were taken by jealous girls to make other girls just as jealous. But jealousy is something you don't have to feel against Tiara. _You_ are the couple now. You and Troy start the new Golden Age, alright? So if I see you make that sad face one more time, we're going to have a problem." She pulled her hand back and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Besides, frowning causes wrinkles."

Sharpay flashed her a smile and Lily tilted her head, reading her mind. "You're gonna have to do better than that."

"I'm trying."

"There is no _try_ for Hale girls, Sharpay, there is only _do_."

"Right," Sharpay agreed, standing up from the bed. She was a Hale girl. She was dating Troy. She was a part of this. That's what she was trying to get into her head. "Get some sleep, dream of Troy, and forget Tiara. That's an order."


	35. Everything's Fine

"I can't believe I have one more day of this."

"You'll be fine, Shar."

"Maybe a little more than fine," Ryan mumbled.

Sharpay looked up at him as they walked on the path towards Hale. They'd just taken their French AP exam and she planned on spending the rest of the day with what was left of her brain. Not to mention she still had to pack her closet for break _and_ study for her last exams tomorrow _and_ fit in some Troy time. In attempt to work with that last one, he was walking her back to Hale and then heading back over to Stuart to do a little packing of his own. Apparently everyone packed on Thursday because getting ready for the Gala took up all free time after exams on Friday. She didn't even know how she was doing her hair yet. She squeezed Troy's hand and looked across him at Ryan. The smirk on his face made the situation all too obvious. She smiled and shook her head, "You guys pay off the teachers, don't you?"

"Don't you worry your pretty brain about that," Ryan responded, spinning his once-perfectly-sharpened pencil in between his fingers like a drummer twirled drum sticks. She had always pegged him as more of a piano guy. What with his straight As and his dedication to school. "You'll need it for calc tomorrow."

"No more test talk," Sharpay whined. "I just want to go upstairs and pack and blissfully pretend that I have no more obligations this semester."

"Besides avoiding Gabriella?" Troy asked, nudging her shoulder. She tilted her head back at his horrible attempt at a joke. "Not funny."

"Not trying to be."

"Speak of the devil and she doth appear," Ryan said, nodding towards the staircase of Hale Hall. Gabriella was leaning against the stone in her wool skirt and designer booties. Most people dressed down for the exams today- even most of the girls in Hale. Though, of course, this meant Wolford stockings instead of skinny jeans. Normally Sharpay went on the yoga pant route during exam week, but she planned on upholding Hale status by wearing a chiffon Joie dress and some tights that she pulled from her drawer. They probably cost 1/8 of a pair of Wolfords. She was cold but she was comfortable. Gabriella's four inch Mary Janes seemed less so.

The devil really _does _wear Prada.

She was whispering intensely into her BlackBerry, back to the three of them. Troy must've had much better hearing than she and Ryan, because he slowed his pace, tugging lightly on her arm to stop her. He slid his arm around her shoulder and kissed the side of her head, "Go inside with Ryan, okay? Get warm. I'll just be a minute."

/

"Troy..." Sharpay looked up at him quizzically, but he just walked her towards Ryan, who put a hand on her shoulder. Gabriella turned, suddenly noticing that they were walking towards her. Sharpay turned towards him nervously, and Troy took the moment to nod reassuringly at Ryan. He squeezed her shoulder and walked her towards the stairs, "Sharpay, c'mon. It's cold."

"I'll meet you," Troy smiled, waiting until she swiped the two indoors to walk up to Gabriella, who was speedily finishing her phone call as he tucked his hands into his jacket pockets "-call you later."

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and flashed a fake smile, "To what do I owe the pleasure, Bolton?"

"Who was on the phone?" Blunt, sure, but he wasn't in the mood to exchange niceties with her. Her smile held as she slid her Blackberry into her coat pocket, "My mother. Not that I owe you much explanation."

"You may recall the fact that I have extraordinary hearing..." he trailed off, watching the muscles around her mouth fight to stay still. "I believe your words were '_exhausted every other option'_ and '_hasn't left me with much choice_'. Now I know I'm not bionic, but I heard those pretty clear."

"And it became illegal to talk to my mother about paying off my Physics teacher in the event I get a B... when?"

"I wouldn't put it above you to do such a thing, but we both know that's not who or what you were talking about."

"Who else would I be talking to?"

"Don't play games with me." A smirk formed on her lips and she walked around him. He narrowed his eyes and followed her around to the front steps of Hale, grabbing her arm before she could climb more than a few steps. "I thought you were done being friends with me."

Troy removed his hand, "Who said this was a friendly conversation?"

"Of course it isn't. Always have to be the great protector for your precious girlfriends. Tell me, have you always had a weakness for selfish blondes, or-"

"I'm sorry, Gabriella, have you _met_ yourself? Google the word selfish and your Facebook profile pops up."

"You're really going to be sorry you've been so rude to me when Sharpay's crying at the Gala," she stated matter-of-factly, turning towards the door. Oh, hell no, she was not actually threatening Sharpay again. Was she not going to learn? He grabbed her arm again, climbing a step closer to her. "If you pull _anything_ I swear the level of hell you will find yourself in will be so far beyond Dante's Inferno-"

"Like people have been stopping me in the past?"

"Let me put it this way," Troy took another step closer, inclining his head towards hers as she stared. She didn't want to break eye contact. He didn't want to be anywhere near her. "If you hurt her again, I will one hundred ten percent ready to personally take you down."

Gabriella swallowed a lump in her throat and smirked slowly, "Gee, if I'd known putting her life in danger at a public event was all it took to get a little dirty talk out of you..."

"Goodbye, Gabriella," he deadpanned, walking past her while pulling the master card from his coat pocket.

"Oh my god, I was kidding."

He heard the music inside before the door even opened. Sounded like the girls were listening to an acoustic Christmas album. He held the door open for Gabriella despite himself, shrugging his jacket off. When he turned from hanging it on the wall among the pea coats of the Hale girls he turned to see half of them lounged on the couch, all staring up at Sharpay, just as mesmerized by her voice as he now was. She caught his eye and Troy could hear her voice perfectly over that of Jessica Simpson. This wasn't exactly a Hale tradition he'd ever walked in on before. He didn't even know Sharpay could sing. That hadn't been in her file. Drama club, yes. Voice of an angel, no.

Maybe he'd go back to Stuart and add it in.

"-more than snowy winter nights... A present any shape or size can't match the beauty of your eyes," Sharpay blinked up at himHe leaned his hands on the couch, behind where Kelsi was sitting, her legs crossed over Ryan's and his arm around her shoulder. Ryan lifted his arm and lightly smacked Troy's arm in an 'she's amazing' way. As if he didn't already know. "Of all the things I could receive, you're the only gift I need. My only wish for Christmas is-"

"Of course she sings," Gabriella scoffed, making a point to stomp as she trudged up the stairs. He turned and watched her disappear around the second set of stairs. Her words had caused Sharpay to stop singing before the song was over, but that hadn't stopped anyone from clapping loudly. Troy wondered if they did it to annoy Gabriella. He really hoped so. Sharpay had started around the couches, a full force blush on her cheek. "Brooke dared me, I couldn't say no."

"You're amazing."

"You're crazy," she smiled, burying her face against his chest as he opened his arms to her. He pressed a kiss into the top of her head. She looked up at him, "She told me that you've got a pretty good voice, too. I think you should go over there and pick a song."

"Yeah man, just like last year," Ryan smirked, looking over the back of the couch. Troy shook his head at the memory of Tequila Karaoke last semester during one of the snow storms. Every time you refused to get up and sing you had to down a shot of Don Julio. "Maybe a little Taylor Swift."

"Taylor Swift?" Sharpay questioned, eyes twinkling up at Troy. Oh god, this was one drunken night she did _not _need to know about.

"No, even better!" Kelsi said, turning around, her cell open in her hand. "What was that other song he sang? From that movie. Footloose or Hairspray or..."

"Oh my god, Ladies' Choice!" Martha squealed before a handful of them started laughing. Troy rolled his eyes and nodded. "Yes, please bring that up again. It only took four months for everyone to stop talking about it."

"But your voice is so beautiful, Troy," Ryan managed in between laughter. Kelsi had her head tossed back, barely breathing she was laughing so hard. Next to her, Angela was wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. She may have already been in Hale, but most of the seniors now had already been friends with them. She sucked in a breath, "I didn't realize your hips could move like that"

He shook his head and smoothly steered Sharpay around towards the staircase, "As much fun as this is..."

"Oh come on, I was enjoying that!" Sharpay giggled. Troy shook his head, "You've heard more than enough, trust me."

"You and Zac Efron, huh?" Sharpay was smirking at him over her shoulder as she climbed the stairs. "I didn't know you had an affinity for show tunes."

"I don't think it can actually be classified as a show tune. I don't think it was in the broadway show." Troy mentally cringed for knowing that. The vague and distant memory mostly diluted by the tequila flashed in front of his eyes. Sharpay slid her hand into his as they rounded the banner to the third floor and he followed hr down the hallway with a grin on his face.

"I wouldn't tell anyone if we hid in my room and picked a song for you to sing," she offered, hand on the doorknob of her room.

"See, I _would,_ but I already got you a present," he added as she pushed the door open.

Sharpay stopped walking, hand squeezed more tightly around his hand now, and Troy stood behind her with a giant grin on his face. He leaned towards her ear. "Merry Christmas."

/

"No. Way." Sharpay stared, the small brown dog barked up at her, perched on her bed with a large red bow loosely tied around its neck. It was the dog they'd seen in the window of the pet shop. How had he even remembered which dog it was? She let go of Troy's hand and ran over, kneeling by the bed in front of the puppy. She turned back to Troy, who slowly walked in the room towards her. "Secret Santa?"

"Well, not so secret anymore."

"I think I'll name you Boi," Sharpay said that high voice people use to speak to their pets. She ruffled his fur from both sides, unable to stop touching him. He was too cute. She was never going to be able to focus on studying tonight.

"Boi?" Troy asked over her shoulder.

"Yeah... I mean, look at him, he's just a little boy. Plus it rhymes with Troy, the most amazing boy ever who gives people puppies for Christmas. I mean... How did you even..." she looked from him to the puppy and back to him, caught in every child's Christmas fantasy. "Just... How?"

"I called and asked your mom if it would be alright, you know, since he obviously can't stay here at school. She said it was fine, so-"

She stood and wrapped her arms around him so tightly she was afraid she might hurt him, but his soft laughter assured her otherwise -she couldn't hurt him if she tried. But she softened her hold anyway, closing her eyes as she leaned her cheek against his chest. "Thank you so much. I love y-"

On her bed, Boi barked. If the dog had caught it, Troy surely had. Sharpay's eyes opened wide at her own words. _Avert crisis, Sharpay, avert_! Troy seemed to have frozen in place, but she pulled out of his grasp and tucked her hair behind her ear. "...your present. I love your present."

He cleared his throat and nodded at her, a different expression on his face than was in his eyes.

"You're welcome"

Sharpay's mouth was half ajar and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Did he just say... _you're welcome_? What did you say after that? There was nothing to say after 'you're welcome'. Troy blinked away from her, towards the window, and she turned away from him just as he ran his hand over his face. She squeezed her eyes shut. He didn't love her. He doesn't love her. Why else would he react like that? She was stupid. So so stupid. They were dating, sure, but that didn't mean he had to _love_ her. She was so naive. Boi squeaked a bark from the ground at her feet and she opened her eyes, trying to distract herself from frowning. Or crying.

Or both.

She bent down and cradled the dog into her chest. As she stood up her eyes fell on a small wrapped present perched on her desk. Intrigued, she walked towards it, noting the glitter detail on the gold wrapping paper and the mass of blue and gold ribbon on top. Hale colors? She set Boi down on her desk chair and picked up the square package. No card. No to/from tag. She held it up as she turned back to Troy, "Is this from you, too?"

Troy looked over with a curious expression. His blue eyes scanned the gift in her hand and something passed over his face. Some sort of recognition that Sharpay couldn't quite make out. "No... Just Boi..." He started towards her as she examined the paper, "What's the tag say?"

"There isn't one," she answered, looking down as she started to slide off the ribbon. It was probably from Lily. Or maybe the Hale mother she was talking to on the phone. Troy stopped at her side, picking up Boi easily and ruffling up his fur. He must miss his own dogs. Sharpay almost felt bad ripping open the wrappings, they were too pretty- and the Tiffany blue box it was hiding only made her more curious.

"Oh Jesus," Troy whispered under his breath. Sharpay looked up at him, "What?"

"Just," he started, but then shook his head. "Open it."

She pulled off the white bow, placing it delicately on her desk with the wrapping paper. She looked up at Troy once more before opening the box, but he seemed to be putting most of his effort into keeping a calm composure. The last time she'd opened a Tiffany box was in Maui when Fox had given her the bracelet. She looked down at the chain on her wrist before looking in the small box. She picked up the velvet pouch and carefully pulled the silver bangle from the inside. Bringing it closer to her eyes, she ran a finger over the white gold on which her name was name was delicately engraved. She didn't even want to think about how much it cost.

"It's beautiful," Sharpay noted, picked up the small white card still in the box. On one side it simply said _Tiffany & Co._, but on the other side, in a messy handwriting just distinct enough to be a girl's, read:

_Can't wait to meet you. Merry Christmas, roomie. -T_

The first reaction her body had was to drop the bangle, pulling her hand back. Troy plucked the card from her fingers and placed Boi on the ground. She took a step back, staring at the bangle on the ground. She kept seeing the handwriting in her mind. The word 'roomie' stuck out as if it was bolded, taunting her. Boi barked but it sounded far away. Sharpay blinked up at the empty bed Gabriella had once slept in but Troy put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him.

"Shar," he started, putting one hand on the side of her face. "You okay?"

"Peachy," Sharpay answered. "I am in no way completely stunned that your ex-girlfriend bought me an expensive piece of jewelry and had it set in my room."

"That's just how she is. Shock and awe." He brushed some hair behind her ear and implored her to believe him, coaxing her into a relaxed state with his softly mismatched eyes. She stared at the blue and then blinked away, letting go of the breath she didn't know she was holding. "I need to talk to Lily."

"She's still in her exam..." he responded, and she went to turn towards her bed but he placed both his hands on her face. They were too warm not to give in to. "Hey, look at me. You're safe. Tiara's not here. I am. Everything's fine."

"Everything is not fine, Troy. Does it look it?" She slid from his hold and folded her arms across her chest. Tiara was ruining everything from god knows where. Who knew what was going to happen when she actually came back. She didn't think she was going to be able to handle it. She walked towards her closet, where her Badgley Mischka gown hung in a clear garment bag. She put her hand on the plastic. "What if she shows up tomorrow? What will you do?"

"I'll be with you and we'll be with our friends having fun. Don't worry about her right now."

"They're her friends, too." She could see him walking towards her from the reflection in the mirrored closet doors. He didn't try to touch her this time even though she wished he would. "I'm going crazy aren't you."

"You're not crazy," Troy soothed. "A little shaken up, but not crazy." She bit the inside of her cheek.

"Wow." She looked over at him, watching his eyes examining the dress in front of them. He was smiling to himself and she wanted to know the exact thought going through his head. He turned to her. "You're gonna look gorgeous... _more_ gorgeous."

She smiled and blushed despite herself and turned around. Boi was barking, hidden by the other side of the bed. She crawled over her mattress and reached into her bedside table drawer. "Now, I'm not your Secret Santa, but I um... I got you something."

"It's not a puppy, is it?"

Sharpay grinned and sat on her bed, sitting on her knees and flattening out her dress. "No. It's um... Just open it."

She held out the small wrapped gift, not nearly as gorgeous presentation-wise as Tiara's had been. Troy took it and sat down on the edge of her bed. "You really didn't have to."

"It's nothing amazing," she started as he peeled back the paper to reveal a plain green picture frame with a picture of the two of them at Vince's house. They had just arrived and Troy hadn't even taken his coat or hat off yet. Faye had shouted their names just as they walked into room and ordered them to take a picture. Drunk on Troy and vodka and excitement, Sharpay had wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She remembered it vividly even without the picture. Troy smiled up at her, "It's perfect."

He leaned over for a kiss and Sharpay wrapped her arms around his shoulders again, nestling her face into his neck. Troy said everything's fine. She wanted to believe him so badly. She closed her eyes and breathed in his cologne, trying to focus on the happiness in the picture and of Troy's hands around her and nothing else.

/

"Everything sucks," Gabriella mumbled to herself, angrily tossing shoe after shoe into one of her luggage bags She turned to the mirrored closet door and fluffed her hair dramatically. "_Look at me, I'm blonde. I can sing and everyone loves me_."

She grunted and turned from the mirror, sliding the door shut after she had picked up the last shoe and zipped up her bag. She pushed it off the end of her bed and collapsed on her mattress, staring up at her ceiling. One more day. One more day and then she'd never have to see that stupid Barbie bitch again.

She reached over to her bedside table for the bottle of Valium her mother had sent her. Her mother thought she was becoming anxious. But that wasn't it. She was just excited. In less than twenty four hours she was never going to have to hear Sharpay's name ever again. Never see her face. It was going to be amazing.

She dumped two pills into her hands and swallowed them without water. She curled onto the side, grinning at the thought of a better future. She squeezed her pillow. She was going to be the favorite again. Everyone would love her. _Troy_ would love her. She'd have her friends back and she would be able to sleep in her own room. She'd have to disinfect the entire thing, of course, because Sharpay's germs would be all over it. But then it would be hers:

The room. Hale. Stuart. Eastwood. Troy.

All. Hers.

/

"I can't even dance."

"Now we both know that's a lie."

Sharpay zipped up her last suitcase of clothes and lifted it off her bed. Unaware of how heavy it would be with the weight of so much new clothing, it just narrowly missed her foot as she dropped it on the ground. She decided to drag it by the rest of them instead. "Choreographed dance, sure. But waltzing? I can't waltz."

"What makes you think you're going to have to waltz? Are you going back in time to the nineteen century and just not telling me or-

"Jimmie this is serious!" She whined, propping the suitcase to standing position and looking over at the open bathroom door. She'd said that a decibel too loud and she didn't want Lily coming in here to check on her. She then looked over by her desk, as the small bed Troy had bought for Boi to sleep in, but he was still napping, curled up into a little brown furry ball. Good. No one, not even Boi, needed to see her stressed out about something as simple as this. She sighed a "sorry."

"Does someone need a time out over there?"

"No," she responded, walking back over by her bed and picking up an empty green duffle bag. "I guess I'm just overly nervous about the Gala."

"You don't have anything to be nervous about. We've gone to a dozen dances."

"This isn't a _dance_, Rocket," she explained, leaning in front of her closet to match up pairs of shoes to throw in her duffle. "It's a _Gala_. It's chairmans and couture and crab puffs."

"Seafood makes you sick," he stated simply, a smile in his voice. She grabbed a Sam Edelman boot and shook her head at the phone, "I know... but it was an-"

"Alliteration, yes, of course." She smiled, comforted to know his ability to finish her thoughts hadn't disappeared when she had. "So continue. What makes this _dance_ so special?"

"Well," Sharpay rolled her eyes. "I have to be on Gabriella watch even though Troy said I had nothing to worry about and the mother of Hale is going to be there so I'm even more nervous because I'm absolutely horrible with parents and-"

"Now, you know that's not true. My parents love you. You're the only girl they let me spend forty-eight consecutive hours with on our couch."

"That's just because they're best friends with my mom. They have no choice but to accept me."

"Trust me, Shar, she'll love you. It's kind of hard not to."

Sharpay smiled sadly, leaning against the side of her bed and looking up at her dress. A month ago she wouldn't have even dreamt this was where she would be. She would probably be on his couch with him right now, forcing him to watch The Vampire Diaries. He'd complain about society's vampire craze while she explained why Elena and Katherine looked alike. "Jimmie-"

"It's fine. You love Troy. I get it."

"How did you know?"

"I didn't. I was fishing." He sounded like he was fighting to keep a positive tone in his voice. She ran her fingers through her hair and massaged her temple. "Is that the best you can do to sound excited for me?"

"This wound is fresh, it needs time to heal."

"I don't know what you're expecting, Jimmie, I can't turn my words into Neosporin."

"That's probably why they sound more like peroxide."

At those words Sharpay fell silent. She tilted her head back and looking up at the ceiling. Jimmie was clearly upset over more than just her feelings for Troy. This conversation had probably been building for a while. He wasn't one for confrontation, even over the phone apparently. She sniffed back the emotion that was creeping into her voice before lightly responding, "I didn't plan for this to happen, you know."

"I'm sure you didn't," he responded honestly. "But it did."

The iPhone buzzed in her hand and she pulled it in front of her face. She saw Troy's face on the screen and held it back to ear. "Jimmie, can you hold on one second?"

"It's him isn't it?" He wasn't even trying to mask his voice anymore.

"One second, I promise," she pleaded, pretending she didn't hear the sigh from his end as she switched lines. "Troy?"

"Hey, you alright?" His voice was relaxed, like checking up on her was now a daily part of his routine. She smiled, "Two arms, two legs."

"Still packing?"

"Yeah," she said, staring at the closet in front of her. How did she chose which shoes she would need over break? What if she left a pair here and ended up needing them? Would she just buy another pair? Or should she pack them all just in case?

Her list of priorities had really shifted.

"I'm sure you two haven't even started," she grinned, leaning her head back again. A rustling on his end. She wondered if he was actually doing something or just trying to sound it. "Well, that's not true. We have the suitcases out, there's just nothing in them."

"We're on it, Blondie!" Jason's voice shouted, muffled. Troy laughed, "We don't have as much to pack as you guys do over there, we can do it in forty minutes tops."

"I'm sure you can," she agreed, crossing her legs just as Boi ran around the bed and jumped into her lap. She ruffled his fur and he licked her hand. She'd wanted a dog since she was three, she just wanted to sit and play with him for hours. He was just a little puppy. "Boi says hi."

"That's weird, I didn't realize I bought you a talking dog."

"Ha ha," Sharpay responded through actual laughter. She lifted her hand to her face. As much as she wanted to stay on the phone with him... "Troy, I've got Jimmie on the other line, so-"

"Say no more," Troy said easily. She tried to find a hint of strain or jealousy in his voice but she couldn't. He wasn't as obvious as Jimmie. But she was thankful for that. "Tell him I said hey."

"Text me?"

"Can do," he agreed before she switched to the other line. "Jimmie?"

"Now my watch might be off, but I think that was longer than one second."

"Troy says hi," She frowned down at her dog, his calm nature had him already passed out on her thigh. Jimmie didn't say anything for a while, but she heard him breathing on the other line so he obviously hadn't hung up. She imagined he was on his bed, a dramatic arm draped over his eyes. _He must hate me. He must think I'm best friends with Troy now and is furious._ She must have pet Boi fifty times before he spoke again, "Is he aware that if he so much as thinks of hurting you I'll be on the next plane out?"

Not furious. Just protective. She nodded to herself, closing her eyes and resting her head on the mattress, "I'll make sure he knows."

She could hear him take a long breath, inhaling and exhaling whatever else it was he had planned on saying. She wished she could hug him. That they could have a sleepover again and fall asleep watching some horrible HBO movie. She wasn't even going back to Albuquerque for winter break. Who knew the next time she was going to see him. Be able to talk to him in person. Touch him. Hug him. The thought brought a tickle to her senses and a lone teardrop rolled down her face before she could stop it.

"I love you, Jimmie," she sniffed quietly. "Really."

"But you love him more." The muted disappointment in his voice stung her eardrums and she wiped the tear away quickly. "I've loved you longest. Troy can't take that away from you. I won't disappear."

"Good," And all she could think of when Jimmie spoke was Tiara. The present she had sent for Sharpay had been put in the box, in a bag, in the bottom drawer of her desk. It hurt just knowing it was there. Tiara. Her and Troy's love was so big and she still disappeared. Jimmie sounded so sure and he made it sound so simple:

"Because I won't let you."

/

"I won't let her worry about it, because that won't do any good, but if Tiara sends one more thing I don't know if she can handle it." Troy placed another shirt into the open suitcase on his bed. He glanced over at Jason's side of the room, the space between them filled with a few half-packed duffle bags and the talk of Tiara's eminent return. He had interrogated both Hale and Stuart about who could have put the package in Sharpay's room but everyone seemed to have an alibi for the day. Jason, suddenly very protective of Sharpay, even asked a few of the Hale prospects for next year. Not even Lily and all of her ultimate knowledge had pinned the blame on someone yet. This meant it was either it was a ghost or someone invisible. No one new walked into Eastwood, let alone Hale without her knowing. Or her approval.

He turned and looked at the picture frame Sharpay had given him earlier, stared at her smile. "She's strong but she's not as used to Tiara's mind games as we are. She doesn't know who she's dealing with."

"I think she's coping pretty well," Jason ventured. Troy moved over to his dresser to continue packing, but his friends continued, "Besides, I'm sure she's getting some good practice with all of your mind games.

"_My _mind games?"

"Yes, Troy, _your_ mind games. Come on, you can't tell me you're not aware of how you act when Tiara's name enters the conversation." Jason's full attention was on Troy now, who had stopped to look at the picture of he, Jason, Tiara and Zeke from freshman year. It was a lot simpler back then. He examined the way Tiara's arms were wrapped around he and Jason's shoulders, the way her smile stood out, the unique color of her eyes.

"Knowing full well that Sharpay is in the dorm, you demand to know her location, citing her as your 'girlfriend'. You protect Sharpay from Tiara but then defend her religiously even though she threw you into a depression and yet you look at that picture each morning when you get dressed as if you think that's how your life is going to be when you step outside. I understand how much you loved her and you're still hurt she left but-" His green eyes stared powerfully across the room as he cut himself off, and Troy felt his face morphing into the picture of astonishment. He hadn't realized how much he had actually done, how close he could have come to messing everything up with Sharpay.

"You see, your problem is that you hold onto the past thinking it'll return in the future. But it won't. And if it does it won't be the same as before," Jason broke eye contact first, turning into his side of the closet. "Everyone changes. And it's not always for the better."

"You're telling me things I already know, Jay," Troy said softly, picking the picture frame up from the dresser and examining it. Obviously people changed. The Tiara he knew would never have disappeared on him. Old Tiara wouldn't be taunting he and Sharpay with notes and the promise of her return. Old Tiara would have shown up. Old Tiara wouldn't have left in the first place. And Old Troy would sit and wait for her to return. But New Troy was only happy that she left. And that change felt better. If she hadn't, he never would have spent so much time with Sharpay. And lately, not being with Sharpay felt like the worst thing in the world. He put the frame back down and returned to pulling clothes from his drawers. "She almost said she loved me today."

"Almost?" Jason turned to him, a pile of sweatshirts over his left arm. He smirked, "Sure you weren't imagining it?"

Troy shook his head, turning to his bed and placing a stack of jeans on the mattress. "She started to say it, but she stopped herself. It was kind of like an... 'I love yo...ur present'."

"Maybe she just loved the dog. Ladies are all about the puppies."

"No," he retorted. He had already considered and rejected that option. "You should've seen her face."

"Why do you think she stopped?"

"_That_ is the magic question."

"Well, did you do anything when she stopped herself?" Jason leaned his back against the wall near the closet, watching Troy move about his side of the room avoiding eye contact. "_Say_ anything?

Troy stopped walking, pushing his drawer shut. He pinched the bridge of his nose. Oh god, he was an idiot. He was playing mind games. He didn't mean it. He wanted to go back in time and man the hell up. "I said 'you're welcome'."

Jason paused, covering his mouth and staring for a moment. "You said... you're welcome..." He dropped his hand, revealing the remnants of a smirk he had tried his best to hide. "That's the equivalent of her _actually_ saying it and you saying 'thank you'."

Troy mentally smacked himself, replaying the conversation, "I had the chance to say it later, too, and I didn't."

"Why the hell not?"

"I don't know, Jay, I was caught off guard. She pulled away and looked scared when she realized she almost said it, I wasn't about to freak her out even more."

"Troy, listen to me." Jason had walked half way across the room and had now placed both of his hands on Troy's shoulders. "You're in the top ten of your class. You got a 210 on your PSATs. You're next in line for Stuart President, and you're my best friend." He lifted his hand and ruffled up Troy's hair, but Troy swatted the hand away. "I love you, man, but you can be really stupid."

"Backhanded compliment," Troy pointed out as he readjusted his hair. Jason rolled his eyes, "I'm gonna make this real simple for you, I'll ask you a question and you say the first thing that comes into your mind. Easy?"

"I don't see what this had to do with-"

"Just answer, alright?"

"Alright, fine, commence."

Jason smirked and looked Troy straight in the eyes. It was almost intimidating, like it was back when he was still being initiated. A senior would stand in front of him, give him a year, and ask him to name the students of Stuart. Or give him a name and ask for the year. It was weird to think that next semester he'd be the one helping initiate. Asking the questions. Deciding a fate.

"Remember: the first thing. What do you like better: vanilla or chocolate?"

"Chocolate."

"What would you rather watch: action or comedy?"

"Action."

"Who's your best friend: Me or Ryan?"

Troy made an obvious face, "You."

"Good answer. Which semester do you like better: fall or spring?"

"Fall."

"Who do you love: Tiara or Sharpay?"

"Sharpay."

Well. That was a tricky little game.

Tricky but effective.

Jason grinned and turned back towards his closet, "There's your answer."

For a moment Troy didn't say anything, sort of frozen in place while mentally processing the gravity of what had just been uncovered by this answer. He was sure he already knew though. Whenever he was around Sharpay he just felt better. Happier. More lively. He should have known. Jason had a large grin on his face. He was still pulling stuff from hangers but it was evident in his voice when he sing-songed, "Troy loves Sharpay."

Troy felt the smile forming on his lips just hearing it out loud.

"Yeah, I... I do," he let out a breath, almost laughing at himself for not actually taking the time to admit it sooner. Jason seemed to have known it for a while. Gabriella seemed to have the same notion. But did Sharpay? Did anyone else? Or did everyone? He ran a hand over his face, wiping the surprise from his features until all that was left was a smile and the idea of Sharpay saying it back. "I love Sharpay."

"And I'm happy for you. So you'll be telling her..." Jason trailed off, folding a shirt before stuffing it into the open suitcase. Troy wondered why he even bothered to fold.

"Tomorrow," he assured his friend, looking over at the frame one last time before opening the top drawer of his dresser and placing it in. He pushed it shut and turned to look at the new frame Sharpay had given him on his bedside table. Tiara was the past. He and Sharpay were the present. The future. At least he hoped so.

"I'll tell her tomorrow."

* * *

One more chapter to go...


	36. The Longest Two Seconds

The second Sharpay had finished her Creative Writing final Kelsi warned her that prep was going to be intense. _Intense_? Sharpay thought she was exaggerating. But the two of them had walked up the stairs and heard the music before they even swiped the door open. Britney Spears was echoing around the common room where Lily and Angela had designated at least six work stations with everything from professional hair and make-up, to manicures and pedicures to a tanning and waxing station. The last one was extremely convenient since Sharpay had been so stressed out and busy avoiding assassination attempts that she hadn't done her eyebrows in forever.

Rushing around in a pair of shorts, a tank top, and her strapless bra, Sharpay was tired already. It had taken forty minutes for her hair to be brushed out, trimmed, and rolled into a variety of soft curlers. A few minutes for the waxer to do her thing. And then another hour or so to get her nails done. Now she was back in her room, pacing back and forth as she tried to get her navy manicure to finish drying. She hadn't touched anything in at least ten minutes for fear of smudging. She stopped in front of her desk and pressed the Home button on her phone. The Gala was in an hour and a half and her make-up wasn't even done. Was she going to be ready in time? Was she going to mess it up once it was put on? Was she going to look stupid in the pictures with a huge streak of eyeliner across her cheek?

"Here, Sharpay."

Sharpay turned and saw Kelsi gliding through the door, a pair of patent platforms dangling in her hand. She'd probably be about six feet tall in them, rivaling Ryan's height. She momentarily wondered if he minded her being taller than him. Luckily Sharpay was short and Troy wouldn't have to worry about that. Kelsi held out her other arm, a diamond pendant hung from a short gold chain, "For you."

"Wow."

"Pretty, right? I got it in a gift bag." She dropped it onto Sharpay's palm and she stared at the diamonds. "If you find one you'd rather wear just put it back on my desk. I don't want your present eating it."

Sharpay saw her green eyes flicker over her shoulder to Boi's bed. The puppy had been good since she got back from her finals, even though she'd been running around figuring out what color to get on her nails and how she'd wear her hair and what shoes she was going to- _ugh_. Just _thinking_ about getting ready for a Gala was hard work. Sharpay felt a sudden admiration for people who did this every week. She smiled and gave Kelsi her word, running a finger over the gold. Better than this? Really? Was that possible?

"Sharpay!" Martha squealed, bouncing in as Kelsi slid out. The make-up artist had glued a pair of long false eyelashes onto her lids, making her childish hazel eyes even wider. She blinked them a few times, tucking her straightened hair behind her ears. "What do you think?"

"I think that I can't be in the same room as you until I get my make-up done," Sharpay laughed, feeling almost self-conscious with her clean face and hair curlers. She tugged up her strapless bra a little. Martha grinned, "Please, I'd kill for your complexion. But don't worry, I think you're next after they finish Gabriella."

Sharpay stiffened at the sound of her name. Today was Lily's parting gift to Gabriella. After tonight, she was banned from Hale. She wasn't even allowed to come here to visit Kelsi or Taylor. They would have to go over to Gregory Hall to spend time with her- not that either of them seemed to want to jump on that crazy train. Even Kelsi had been spending less time with Gabriella, which made Sharpay feel a little sympathetic for her.

But then she remembered being pushed into the lake and the feelings disappeared.

"Come on, you _have _to see how they did Brooke's cat eye..." Martha tugged Sharpay out of her room by a soft manicured hand and Sharpay managed to place Kelsi's necklace on top of the dresser before being pulled down the stairs. Just as they reached the final flight, Gabriella was turning the banister to make her way up, hair and make-up complete. If she wasn't such a horrible person Sharpay would have told her how amazing she looked. Gabriella didn't even acknowledge her- something that was probably for the better. There didn't have to be any fighting tonight. Tonight was supposed to be fun.

Though she'd probably jinxed it just by thinking about it.

Almost an hour flashed by before Sharpay's make-up was finished. She figured choosing a simpler route would have taken less time but it took longer than expected to apply individual fake lashes to Sharpay's already long lashes. Lily was at the chair next to her, having a clean red lip applied, suggesting guys couldn't resist a full row of lashes. So Sharpay had given in, picturing herself batting her eyes at Troy and him swooning over them. As if. She stood up from her chair and reached up to pat the curlers on her head. "Can I take these out yet?"

"Almost," Lily answered, smiling as she nudged Sharpay back towards the stairs. "Come. We have to pick out which Choos you're wearing."

Sharpay heard the click of the door being unlocked and turned to see who could possibly be outside of Hale at a time like this. Everyone was either getting made up or was in their room getting dressed. She froze when she was the shaggy brown hair and the formal attire.

"No date viewing allowed until the Gala, Bolton," Lily announced without even turning around from climbing up the stairs. "Boys aren't allowed to see the effort it takes to make us look good."

"With you all there's no effort required," Troy replied genuinely as he pushed the front door shut with his hand. Sharpay reached up for her rollers again. Probably not her best look. He flashed a smile at Lily when she turned to look down at him, smirking.

"Kiss up," she rounded the banister, calling from the second flight, "You have five minutes until she has to take those curlers out. I'm counting."

Sharpay bit the inside of her cheek, getting a real look at Troy. He was already dressed in his Michael Kors slim-fitting suit and had probably been ready to go for at least an hour. He was examining her face, teeth seeming whiter. "What are you doing here?"

"I have a present for you," he grinned, and there were those teeth again. Had they had a teeth-whitening table over in Stuart, too? She wouldn't be surprised. Lily went all out.

"You already got me a present," she pointed out, unable to stop smiling. Something was different about him. Something in his eyes. The way he looked at her. She loved this look.

"That was for Christmas. This is just because you deserve it."

She felt her heart melt into a little puddle as he pulled a small chain from the inside of his suit jacket. Something dangled off the end. He held it up in between them and she lifted her hand to the gold that had been molded into a cursive, lowercase 'T'. Inexplicable tears tingled at the corner of her eyes and she looked back up to his grin. He blue eyes were shining. She wanted to tell him she loved him. She wanted to tell him so bad. But for some reason she held back, choosing to pull him down into a kiss instead. Having her lips occupied was the only way she was going to keep herself silent. She didn't even care that she was messing up her just-applied lip gloss.

Troy pulled away first, planting another soft kiss on her lips before grinning down at her again. "Will you wear it?"

"Serious question?" She teased, biting the inside of her cheek as Troy reached around to clasp it around her neck. He brushed her hair over her shoulder, letting his hands linger a little longer than necessary. She lifted a hand to the letter and pictured it next to her dress. And then Troy next to her. And then she wanted to see Gabriella's face when she saw them. "I should finish getting ready... I have to look prettier than you."

"Mission accomplished," he smirked, tapping on one of her rollers. She brushed his hand away. "I'll see you in a bit," he added before slipping out the front door and letting a wave of winter air through the room.

She turned around and leaned her back against the door, smiling like an idiot and outlining the 'T' with her fingertips. She looked up to see Martha concealing the biggest grin ever behind her thin fingers and Kelsi smirking at her from the staircase, fully dressed in a white Versace cut-out gown that only she could get away with at a school function. "Told you you'd find something better."

/

"This is why I'm glad I don't have a girlfriend. If I had to wait this long for her to get ready every time we had to go to an event I'd probably just go by myself. Then she'd get mad and I'd have to make it up to her... Such a process..."

"Yeah, but the end product is normally worth the wait," Troy reasoned, casually pacing in the foyer of the Grand Hall. The building was nestled at the corner of campus and only used about twice a year apart from the Gala. It was probably one of the nicest building on campus. From the inside it almost looked like a castle. "You're going to meet a girl one day who you have big enough feelings for that you won't mind waiting."

"Waiting for _what_ exactly? Trying to give me a hint to something, Troy?" Jason smirked and Troy rolled his eyes. "You know what I meant."

"When are you thinking about, you know," He paused, waiting until an older couple- probably school alumni- and a group of Gregory girls made their way across the wide foyer and through the large doorway that led to the ballroom to pull an engraved sliver flask from his inside chest pocket. Troy shook his head as Jason unscrewed the top. He'd been doing this since they'd gotten here, casually taking a swig when no one was around. The room was probably full now, as the Gala had technically started twenty minutes ago. Most people showed up early wanting a table closer to the food. Fortunately Hales and Stuarts had an unspoken claim to one of the better tables. So while he and Jason waited for Sharpay and the rest of the Hale stragglers, James, Lily, and the rest were inside, casually mingling without the pressure of reserving extra seats with suit jackets and clutches.

Jason made a satisfied 'ahhh' as he swallowed the gin, finishing his thought with, "Unveiling the L word?"

"When are you thinking of attending one of these things sober?" Troy asked, ignoring the question.

"If I ever..." Jason shuddered. "Let's just hope I never have to find out. Don't change the topic, Bolton. I'll take it that you're nervous."

Nervous would be a good word. Petrified would probably be better. Every time he saw Sharpay now he just thought about it. About how he loved her. About the things they could do together. But there was that little piece of his mind reminding him about Tiara. What happened if he told Sharpay he loved her and she disappeared, too? He didn't know what would happen. He wasn't sure he'd be able to recover.

"Your brother coming tonight?" Troy asked, a random and desperate attempt to change the subject.

"No. Thank god." He played along, holding out the canister. "Bolted as close to the equator as he could get after his finals."

"You think he'd want to be here. He practically ran the school last year," Troy took a quick gulp and held it back, looking over his shoulder towards the steps god forbid a parent walked by. "Your mom doesn't mind?"

"She does," Jason answered, taking back the flask with a giant swig. He barely winced. "Aiden doesn't."

Troy resisted the urge to give Jason a sympathetic shoulder cap. Jason worked his ass off to steal the attention of his mother from Aiden. And Aiden didn't even try. Now he'd probably get to spend some time with her and have it actually be about him. "Jase-"

"That dress just isn't fair," Jason said slowly with an approving glance. Troy's brow furrowed, expecting to see Sharpay or Martha. But the first face he recognized was Ryleigh Jasnic's. Her dress was simple and gold, but the deep V in the front brought your eyes south. She had her hands wrapped around Nolan's arm. The two stopped next to Troy and Jason as Nolan waved the rest of his Pryce friends to go inside.

"Lookin' good, Ry," Jason grinned, toasting her with his flask.

Ryleigh's lips formed a smile and she put a hand on Jason's cheek, "Very kind of you to notice."

She tapped his cheek twice, looking over to Troy with a smirk, "Is this gonna be a repeat of last year?"

Jason laughed, though Troy was probably sure he didn't remember first hand how he had bowed in front of the former Dean and asked 'Her Majesty' for a dance- and then proceeded to refer to the rest of the faculty as 'Your Grace'. He'd watched one too many episodes of The Tudors the night before. Though he'd 'knighted' Troy and Tiara as Duke and Duchess of Manhattan so he'd been forced to play along.

"I'm five minutes late and you're already hitting on another girl? What kind of date are you?"

Coming from the direction of the coatroom, Sharpay and Martha appeared. Troy barely registered what color Martha's dress was because he was too captivated by Sharpay, in a flowing white dress, walking towards him. He had to touch his chest to make sure his heart was still beating. She was always beautiful but right now she looked... ethereal. She could be the daughter of a Greek goddess. She bit her lip and blushed when he saw the stare he was giving her. "Hi."

"Hi." He replied, unsure if he could form another sound.

"I was not_ hitting_ on Ryleigh. Gross. Bleh." Jason countered, playfully pushing Ryleigh's shoulder away as Martha smirked at him. "Of course you weren't."

Sharpay slid her hand into Troy's. He felt like he was in a fairy tale. Or at a fantasy wedding a girl has when she's watching those reality dress shows. She in her amazing white gown. He in his tailored suit and gold tie. He'd asked her to marry him once in the cafeteria. Could she take him up on the offer... like... now?

"Save me a dance?" Nolan asked, raising his eyebrows as Troy snapped out of his day dream. Sharpay seemed to have fallen into one of her own. His eyes flittered over to Troy momentarily, "If you're okay with that, of course."

Troy smirked as Sharpay squeezed his hand and he nodded at him, "I suppose I could allow it."

Nolan nodded at him and turned back to Sharpay as Ryleigh tugged him away, "Nice necklace."

"Thanks." He watched Sharpay look down, touching for the 'T' pendant. She was biting back a smile when she looked up at him, "I really do love it."

And _I_ really love _you._

/

"Why haven't you said it?"

"I don't know. I don't know how, I guess. I don't want to say it wrong."

"It's easy, really. Me and Ryleigh say it all the time. Just sound it out. Eye... luh-ve... yew."

"Wow Nolan, I forgot how funny you are" Sharpay smirked, arms around Nolan as the DJ worked a slow song into the mix. It was the first song of the night she'd torn herself away from Troy. Not being next to him felt wrong. Though somehow Nolan had dragged him into the conversation so she felt a little less apart from him. "I shouldn't have even brought it up. I don't need you teasing me."

"No, I'm sorry. It's big the first time, I totally get it." Nolan smiled down at her. His hair was less curly than normal. "You know he told me he loved me once. Best day of my life."

Sharpay almost burst out laughing, "He did not."

"No, he did, I swear. We were in Spanish class... fifth grade... and the teacher handed out worksheets with common phrases for us to practice, right? Well, Troy and I are partners and he looks down, reads, looks up at me and says 'Te amo'. Didn't even realize what he was saying."

Sharpay was having a hard time laughing and thinking about the mention of fifth grade at the same time. And they'd been partners? In a boxing match, maybe, sure. "You've known each other for that long?"

"Same school since kindergarden. Used to have the same Nanny. Same basketball team. Same lacrosse team..." He smirked as if he could hear the gears cranking in her brain, "Wouldn't think it knowing us now, would you?"

"Not even a little," she said, honestly interested. She thought Troy _hated_ Nolan. The idea of them on the same team for _anything_ just sounded wrong. He was grinning, though. Like the memory was still fond to him. "What happened to you guys?"

"Tiara, I guess. We both liked her. Went for her at the same time. It got messy. Gauntlets were thrown." He shrugged a shoulder. "Shit happens."

"Do you ever miss him? I mean, do you miss being as close as you were?"

"Sometimes. He's so good, y'know? Honest. He has morals. Not many people like us do. When you meet people like Troy you're just kind of... attracted to their energy." It was weird to know exactly what Nolan was talking about. It was hard not to be completely taken over by Troy. He had everything. He was perfect. She didn't even realize the lovestruck smile she had on her face until she snapped back to reality and saw him grinning at her knowingly. "You should just tell him. Flat out. He'll appreciate it."

"You make it sound so easy," Sharpay mumbled.

"Sorry Clark, I need to steal your dance partner." Lily said, popping in from nowhere and wrapping a hand around Sharpay's arm. "Official Hale business. You understand."

"Of course," Nolan smirked, hands releasing Sharpay. "I wouldn't dream of keeping her away."

She had the feeling he was talking about more than just Hale.

"Smart boy," she said, tugging Sharpay off of the dance floor just as an up-tempo song began to play. "The Mother of Hale wants to meet you."

"She... she's here? She's... The Mother... Is here?"

She wasn't even making sense to herself.

Lily rolled her eyes, "She's just a woman, Sharpay. It'll be fine."

"But she's so much more important. I mean, she could hate me."

"She won't hate you, trust me- Troy!" she called, summoning Troy as if from nowhere and pushing the two towards the stairs to the foyer. "Talk her down. She's nervous."

He wordlessly did as she said, rounding her out of the event. He stopped her from moving and pulled her into a kiss, hands sliding around her waist so that she forgot momentarily what she was so nervous about. He grinned as he pulled away. "Okay, go ahead."

"Cheater," she mumbled. He smirked, "Why are you freaking out?"

"The Mother of Hale wants to meet me."

Troy nodded in understanding, calm as Lily was. Like this woman was no big deal. Why did they not understand?

"What if she doesn't like me?" Sharpay said, mostly to herself, as she moved to pace back and forth in front of him. Even though they were out of the main room the music was still loud and the chatter of hundreds wafted through the air. She toyed with the chiffon on the top of her gown, feeling the fabric twist around her ankles when she turned. Her ridiculously expensive Jimmy Choos tapped on the marble beneath her feet.

"I'm sure she already does," Troy said calmly as he leaned back against the dividing wall.

"What if I trip when I'm walking over to her?" She froze. "Oh my god, I'm totally going to trip over these shoes..."

"You're not going to trip."

"And what if my dress rips..."

"It won't."

"I'm so nervous," she took a deep breath. She looked into the main room, hoping to find the woman she was supposed to meet. The mother of Hale. The most important person in that crowd. To her, anyway. It was useless, of course, seeing as she had no idea what she looked like. Or how old she was. Or what she was wearing. Would a name tag be too much?

Maybe a giant flashing arrow?

"I feel lightheaded and hot... and sweaty and... and hot... Do I look hot?"

Troy smirked, "Always."

Sharpay stopped pacing and looked over at him sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to whine."

"You're nervous, I get it," he reached for her hands and pulled her closer. "You got Lily to like you. You got James to like you. You even got _Kelsi_ to like you. The Mother is going to be a piece of cake."

"I'm sure this woman is like... all of them, plus you, wrapped in some million dollar couture gown."

"I don't know about that," Troy laughed. "But if she's anything like me, then she'll like you right away, won't she?"

Sharpay smiled at him, squeezing his hands before retracting them to fix her hair. "I look okay? Not disgracing the name of Hale or anything?"

"You look more than okay. But here's a little extra luck," he confirmed, pressing a light kiss on her lips. When he pulled away he nodded towards the main hall, pushing her back lightly. "Better go quick before it runs out."

She sucked in a breath and smiled at him, taking one last look at him before gliding out into the throngs of people. She spotted Lily, Angela and Brooke towards the center of all the dancing students, heels still on. Sharpay was itching to take hers off, but knew she'd trip over her dress without them. She slid in between a group of Pryce boys including Nolan and his friends as they all bounced and grinded with various girls in white and gold dresses. The boys had all ditched their jackets and rolled up their sleeves. Nolan had his gold tie loose around his neck. Jason Derulo's Don't Wanna Go Home echoed around the room as she put a hand on his arm to acknowledge him. He turned his head, still bopping around to the beat. He'd clearly had some alcohol, too. His smile was huge.

"Sharpay!" He yelled over the bass, "Where's Troy?"

"Getting some air, I think," she answered. She looked over her shoulder to see if he'd returned, but he was nowhere to be seen. It was a plausible guess.

"Lame! Join us?"

"Maybe in a bit!" She laughed, continuing on her journey to Lily. The nerves that had momentarily gone away reappeared as Lily caught her eye. Sharpay blinked at her, heart thumping from anticipation. "Where's the Mother?"

Lily stopped swaying long enough to peer over the heads of the other students. She looked around, eyes freezing in the direction of the bar and buffet tables. Her sapphire eyes snapped back, "She's at the bar!" She too had to scream to be heard over the dj. "Brown hair, talking to Dean Lucas- good luck!"

She turned her attention back to dancing, hands raised over her head as her curled black hair swung around her. Why was everyone wishing her luck? Did they not think the Mother would like her? Sharpay inhaled and started in the direction of the bar, repeating the niceties in her head. _Hi, I'm Sharpay Evans. How are you. Thank you so much. I love Hale. I'm honored that I was chosen to be a part of it_.

_I am a kiss up._

Her pace slowed as she walked farther from the dance floor and closer to the bar, watching the woman smile as she talked to Dean Lucas. The closer Sharpay got, the prettier the Mother got. Her hair was wavy and shoulder length, a medium brown color with some highlights. Her arms were toned and her engagement ring and wedding band glistened in the light as she reached out to touch the Dean's arm with her free hand. Her smile revealed a row of perfect white teeth. Sharpay closed the space in between them, walking cautiously. The Dean looked over at her first. "Ms. Evans. You look lovely tonight."

"Thank you, Dean." Sharpay smiled, momentarily caught in a daze when she forgot how good looking he was. She blinked over and saw the Mother staring at her, her oddly familiar blue eyes examining her in a non-judging way. The look was much softer than Sharpay was expecting. She was expecting more of a Lily and less of a Martha.

"David, would you excuse us?" The Mother said, smiling over at the Dean. He nodded and softly clapped her shoulder. "Of course. Enjoy yourselves."

"Sharpay Evans?" The woman asked once he walked away, voice sweet as sugar. She switched her glass of champagne from one hand to the other. Her face was flawless and Sharpay couldn't stop staring at her eyes. Had she seen them in a photograph or something?

"Yes," Sharpay answered, taking the hand the woman had extended to her.

"I've heard so much about you." Even her hands were soft. There was not a single thing wrong with this woman. She didn't even have crow's feet. "I'm Celia Bolton."

Um... What?

"Celia... Bol- I'm sorry, Bolton?" Sharpay retracted her hand and stared at Celia. She _knew_ those eyes were familiar. She'd know them anywhere. They were the exact same color as Troy's. How could he not have told her the Mother of Hale and the Mother of _him_ were the same woman?

"That's right," Celia grinned, laughing softly. "You sound so surprised, am I not who you were looking for?"

"No you are!" Sharpay responded too-quickly. She tried to control her thoughts. She wanted to find Troy and give him a stern look. And Lily! They all knew who the Mother of Hale was and no one bothered to tell her it was Troy's _mom_? Were they trying to make her faint from surprise? "I just... didn't realize you were... you know-"

"Also the mother of a Stuart?" Sharpay nodded slowly. Celia shrugged a shoulder, "I may be Troy's birth mother but my Hale girls are just as much my daughters. _Adopted_ may be the better word."

"So you went to Eastwood?" She realized how stupid the question was the second she asked it. Celia smiled, "I'd tell you the year I graduated, but I hate to age myself."

"I don't think you could age yourself if you tried," Sharpay wanted to sew her mouth shut. _Please, say one more stupid thing_.

"That's very kind of you to say- Hi there, sweetie."

Sharpay felt a brush of fabric on her shoulder as Troy leaned forward to kiss his mother's cheek, "Hey momma. You look beautiful."

She put her hand on his cheek and smiled, "See, this is why I miss you so much when you're here."

Troy grinned and looked over across the room, "Where's dad?"

_Way to avoid looking me in the eye, Troy._

"He was off talking business with Jacob Wiley last time I saw him," she took a slow sip of her champagne and Sharpay felt her blue eyes examining the look she was giving her son. "So Troy, do tell me why it's taken me this long to meet the famous Sharpay?"

_Oh, so she knew about me and you left me to stand on the corner of Confusion Ct. and Shock St? Thanks a bunch._

Troy's eyes were glistening and he shrugged a shoulder, "You were away over Thanksgiving. Again."

"Mrs. B, looking gorgeous as always." Jason appeared from behind Sharpay, reaching out a hand in her direction. "Would you please do me the honor of dancing with me?"

Celia smirked the same smirk her son used as she took Jason's hand. She placed her champagne flute down as the music changed to another slow song. "We'll talk more later, Sharpay."

"Okay," she replied meekly. Sharpay spun on Troy the second his mother was out of earshot. "Your _mom?_ _She's_ the Hale Mother? You didn't think it'd be nice if I was privy to this little piece of information?"

"No, see," he started, pulling her towards the dance floor slowly. "Then I'd miss this adorable look of complete confusion on your face."

"I can't believe you let me freak out like that," she mumbled, resisting the urge to smile even though she was mildly angry with him. He slid his arms around her and pulled her close. "I calmed you down, didn't I?"

"Whatever," Sharpay grinned, burying her face against his dress shirt. She didn't want to see him winning the argument. But by the smile she felt as he kissed the top of her head, he probably already knew he won. Someone tapped her shoulder. She twisted her head but didn't pull away from Troy's body. Lily was swaying alongside them, arms around James. "Gabriella's planning something."

Troy let out an irritated sigh. Sharpay ran her fingers along the back of his neck, knowing it calmed him down even though a wave of panic ran through her entire body. "How do you know?"

She made a face and looked up at James. "What is it you people don't understand about the phrase 'I know everything'?"

"Right, sorry," Sharpay apologized.

"You'll learn." Lily smirked, turning away and steering James away from the duo.

Sharpay felt her heart beating faster- and not in a good way. Gabriella was going to try something. Lily's words were echoing and echoing and Sharpay felt her breathing get shallower. Troy must have felt it, too, because he tilted her chin up and looked directly into her eyes.

"Listen to me. Don't worry about her tonight. I won't let her hurt you. I'll protect you, okay? She's just... She's nothing. Understand?" He said, placing a hand on the side of her face. He brushed her hair over her shoulder, looking down at her softly. "You're everything."

She felt her breath catch in her throat as she looked up at him, unable to blink. This is what it felt like to be in a real life Disney movie. Troy was her Prince Charming. She stared so deep into his eyes she was afraid she'd become lost at sea. His voice sounded so close as he said: "In two seconds you changed my world. You _became_ my world."

/

It couldn't wait any longer. This was getting ridiculous.

Gabriella glared at Troy and Sharpay as they swayed intimately to the music, wanting to badly to go over there and rip them from one another's arms. If Gabriella had just sucked it up and done what she'd needed to do last night like she'd thought about, things would be different. That could be her with Troy instead of Sharpay. Or Sharpay could be here alone. Or neither of them could be here at all. She looked over at Kelsi, enthralled in a text as Ryan went to fetch drinks like a good little boyfriend.

_Now or never, Gabriella. Do or die._

Gabriella grabbed her clutch and pushed herself up from the table so abruptly it caused Kelsi's head to snap up from her cell screen. Her green eyes were wide, "Where are _you_ going?"

She was already strides away when she answered, mostly to herself, "I'm taking the situation into my own hands."

/

"-I don't know what I'd be like right now if you hadn't transferred here."

"And I don't know what I'd be like if I hadn't transferred." Sharpay's rested her cheek on his shoulder as she smiled. There was a pause. A long, comfortable pause as they swayed.

"Sharpay, I have to tell you something..."

She pulled back slowly, sensing the soft tone in his voice. Something in Troy's eyes shifted- in a good way. All of his features softened but there was still the note of a smile on his lips. His hand moved a fraction of an inch on her waist and she knew exactly what he was about to say. "Sharpay, I-"

"Mind if I cut in?" Gabriella smirked. Sharpay wanted to scream as she turned towards the brunette. That was not what she was expecting.

Sharpay _what?_ Sharpay, you what!

"Yes, actually," Troy countered, removing his arms from their place around Sharpay. She looked up at him. _What were you going to say, Troy? Say it. Please. 'Sharpay I' what?_ Damn you, Gabriella Montez.

"Too bad," the brunette sighed. "I don't care about being nice anymore."

"When were you-" Sharpay started as Gabriella's eyes narrowed into slits. Troy put a hand on her back to silence her. He was right, she shouldn't even be speaking to her. Especially with Lily's warning. "...nevermind."

"Well, Troy? One dance?"

"I don't think so, Gabriella," he said simply.

"What happened to manners?"

The smile he gave her exhibited more irritation than amusement. "You don't show me or my friends any, so why should I extend that courtesy to you?"

"Because we _used_ to be best friends."

"I'd like you to examine the key word in that statement."

"You're really not even going to-"

"No!" Troy shouted, clearly unable to contain himself any longer. The idea of his parents in the crowd overhearing him didn't seem to faze him. His teachers. His classmates. Gabriella's mouth fell ajar. He shook his head at her. "Have you forgotten what that means? Do I have to say it in another language?"

Sharpay bit back a grin. _Troy speaking French. Troy speaking Italian. Troy speaking_- she shook her head. _Priorities, Sharpay, pull it together_. She looked up at him. _Troy with a British accent..._

Lord have mercy.

"Is something funny, Barbie?" Gabriella snapped. Sharpay bit back her lips and shook her head, about to reach for Troy's hand when Gabriella saw the movement.

"Don't!" She shouted. And anyone who wasn't already looking from Troy's outburst peered over in curiosity. She laughed viciously to herself, looking less and less like an Eastwood student and more and more like a psych ward patient. "You have no idea what's it's like... either of you..."

Sharpay's brow furrowed. _What? What _what_ is like?_

"Mr. Bolton is the classic Alpha Male. Gorgeous, smart- complete pick of any girl on campus to date. Money. Power. Friends. And _you_. You with your fresh face and blonde hair, you just come here and get everything you want on a gold plate," she answered, gesturing to Sharpay. "New Girl gets all the princes and Queen G gets all the pumpkins."

Sharpay swallowed the lump in her throat and glanced over to see Nolan at the edge of the crowd, James slid through the crowd next to him. _Stay calm,_ he mouthed to her silently. She shook her head at him, too concerned for her safety to be rational. She took a step towards Troy, feeling for his fingers. His assuring touch was going to be the only way she could stay calm. Troy was going to protect her. Troy was always going to protect her.

"Troy, I'm sorry," she smiled. Why was she smiling? Was this amusing to her? Sharpay wanted to ask to be let in on the joke, and Gabriella answered in her own sadistic way. She opened her clutch and pulled out a small black pistol that fit too-easily in her hand. People gasped around them but no one made any quick movements, too stunned to take action. She looked into Troy's eyes and dropped her clutch on the ground. She lifted her hand. "If I can't have you, no one can."

"Gabriella," Troy said slowly, unmoving. "Put it down, this isn't the way."

"It's the only way, Troy!" She screamed back, emphasizing by shaking her hand. Taunting them. Threatening them. "Get that through your head!"

"You don't have to do this," Sharpay practically begged, unable to tear her eyes away from the barrel shaking in between she and Troy. It was like Gabriella couldn't figure out who to shoot. Or if she was going to shoot either of them at all. Why wasn't anyone doing anything? All of the people in this room and not one cop? FBI agent? Nothing? She felt the other Stuart boys at the edge of the crowd- Jason, Ryan, Vince- all wanting to intervene but too afraid their movement would make Gabriella pull the trigger. From the corner of her eye she saw Kelsi grab Jason's arm as he took a step, holding him back from the danger.

"Of course I do," Gabriella swallowed. An angry tear rolled down her cheek as she closed her eyes, "It's the only way."

"Gabriella-"

"Goodbye, Troy."

In two seconds it happened:

The sound of a gunshot rang in their ears.

Someone in the crowd jumped for Gabriella.

Troy reached out for Sharpay's hand.

And Sharpay screamed Troy's name as he threw himself in front of her.

They were the longest two seconds of her life.


	37. Credits

Wow.

Literally wow.

I could write 10,000 more words on how thankful I am of all the reviews and alerts and favorites I have- and still receive- for this story. I posted the first chapter in... April 2009? I think it was. I love HSM and was always a Troypay shipper (though Troyella is obviously adorable because Zanessa) but the trailer was kind of just something I messed around with because I loved the idea of Gabriella being the bad guy. I don't know. I just love the role reversal and the change of scenery that I brought to ITS and the different characterization. And I love that people responded to the way I changed the characters because I know it was risky making them look different and adding new characters. I also know I was horrendous at updating because my schedule was crazy and I am perpetually tired so it doesn't really held with the writing and keeping to a split schedule posting-wise. I honestly could never in a million years have asked for such a response to it. An extra thank you to the people who stuck with this from when I posted the trailer and that whole, like, half a year when I literally posted nothing in between chapters. And just the simple fact that people like the way I write astounds me.

There were a horrible amount of run-ons in that paragraph. Apologies. Anyway.

I know a lot of the people who review ITS write fanfic, too. And I know you'll understand when I say how great it feels when someone leaves you a good review of your hard work. If you could see my face any time I open an e-mail about a review or a favorite or even just a story alert, you would think I was crazy. I literally smile like an idiot. I've literally had to hide my face in class because I'll read a really good review and start smiling. And I am horrible at stopping myself from smiling so I'll end up weirding out the kid in the seat next to me wondering why I'm smiling so much at the accounting Power Points on the Smartboard. True story.

And I'm rambling, you don't care about my inability to contain emotion.

Or my accounting class.

So.

Here's a little information I'd like to share with you...

/

First off, if you follow me on twitter (writtenbyuptown), you know I just started a blog for this story. Sort a visual-aid type of thing that I'm making as I re-read the entire story. But if for some reason you like the story enough to want to follow along, the blog is:

intwoseconds . tumblr . com

/

Second of all, I am amazed at the feedback for this story, so let me pass on some statistics...

At the time I posted the final chapter, In Two Seconds had:

436 reviews / 51,797 hits / 146 story alerts / 143 favorite stories.

.

The top six visitor countries are almost always:

United States / United Kingdom / Canada / Australia / Phillipines / Singapore.

But I've also seen countries like Iceland, South Africa, Croatia, and Honduras.

Which I find amazing.

.

And as of now, I am on:

52 favorite author lists / 54 author alert lists.

.

I don't think I've ever actually wrote this, but I'm so blessed to have all of you as readers. It means so much. Honestly.

/

In Two Seconds.  
April 2009 - January 2012.  
xx Uptown

/

PS; I love you.

PPS; Did you think I'd actually leave the story on that note? I've got a sequel for you all, so I'd check in every once in a while... (;

PPPS; Lots of love to Annebell94 who's proofread my story more than I have

PPPPS; I just got my first two review e-mails as I was writing this and if you could see my face... I'm dying (troypay4eternity & asianluver14, I'm talking to you)


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